We Will Fight For You
by hollowcaverns
Summary: Meet Dollface, sister to Crutchie and the only girl newsie. She and her brother chose to start a new life away from their abusive father and found a home in the newsies. They grow close to the other newsies and years pass as they adjust to their new lifestyle. But when the strike starts striking, things shake up the newsies.
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue_

Essie watched in horror as her father threw a smack across Andrew's face. Andrew fell to the floor with a harsh _thud _and the man loomed over him, ready to hurt him again_._ The argument had escalated quickly from bitter statements to yelling and now to violence. She ran forward to help Andrew up but he pushed her out of the way. She fell back against the wall and watched as her father kicked him in the stomach once, twice, three times. Andrew grunted out in pain with each kick. He went in for a fourth kick but Essie ran at him and kicked his shin. He grabbed her and threw her against the wall, her head smacking up against it. She fell to the ground, waiting for another attack, but it never came. She looked up and saw he was gone. The back door was left wide open.

Essie crawled over to Andrew, who was lying on the floor. His nose was bleeding and he was clutching his side. Essie tried her best to focus on him, as she was beginning to get dizzy. She brought her hand to her head and felt something wet and sticky. She drew her hand away and looked at the blood on her fingers. She looked back at Andrew and gingerly touched his shoulder.

"What now?" she asked frightened.

"We gots to leave," he said, strongly, "Before he comes back. Go get a few tings. Some clothes, all the money we has."

"We ain't got much," Essie replied. Andrew pushed up on his arms, sitting up.

"Then steal Pop's," he said defiantly. "It's in da top drawer." Essie nodded and made to leave the room but Andrew called after her.

"Hey hand me my crutch, would ya?" he shouted before she left. She looked around the room and saw it had landed under the kitchen table when he was knocked down. She grabbed it and helped him stand up. She gave him the crutch, and a cloth to staunch his bloody nose, before running out of the room. Thirty minutes later, with one back between the two of them, they left their house and planned to never return.

After an hour of walking around, Essie stopped and grabbed Andrew's arm, pulling them into a nearby alley. It was getting dark and a cold October breeze was starting up. Essie shivered as she rubbed her arms.

"Andrew, what are we doin?" she asked. "We's got nowhere to go. We don't know nobody. We's got hardly any money."

"We just got to walk around for a bit more," he said optimistically. "We's bound to think of somethin."

"Andrew, ya not gonna last long walking around," Essie reasoned. Andrew opened his mouth to protest but she raised her hand. "I can already sees that your leg's not doin so good. Ya too proud to admit that it's hurtin ya and it's just gonna git worse." He looked down, embarrassed.

"Hey it's not my fault Pop's a brute," he mumbled. Essie put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up.

"I'm not blamin ya," she said softly. "But if we's gonna be on our own for a while, we can't afford for ya to git worse." She put a hand to the throbbing bump on her head. All this talking and walking around was making her headache worse.

"And I could say the same for you," Andrew said. He put on hand under her chin, tilter her head up, and brushed aside her hair with the other. "This ain't lookin so good. It's red as hell."

"Yeah well it hurts like hell too," Essie mumbled. Andrew gave her a concerned look before kissing her forehead.

"Hey, we're gonna get out of this," he said. "We're never gonna go back to Pop, ya hear me? Never. Ma wouldn't have wanted us to anyhows. We's gonna keep goin with our heads up and our hearts strong. I ain't leavin your side. We's gonna do this, ya hear?" She nodded and hugged him. They didn't let go for a long time.

"Alright here's what we is gonna do," he said after a while, pulling away. "We's just gonna stay right here, in this here alley, and spend da night here. In da mornin, I'll see if we's can nick some bread or somethin to eat. Den we'll walk on and look for somethin, anyting, that'll help us."

They laid back against the wall and fell asleep leaning against each other. The two siblings did not have an easy night's sleep; it was cold and dark and they were terrified. But they had the comfort of each other's company. That was all they needed at that point.

Andrew woke up with a start when something ran past him. He jolted awake and looked around. The sun had just risen and its warmth had not yet been spread. He shivered and rubbed his arms with his hands. He looked to his side and saw Essie was still sound asleep, lying sideways on the ground now. He then looked up to find the thing that had woken him up.

Just as he was peeking around the corner, something else ran past him. He gasped, startled by the sudden movement, and saw that it was nothing more than a boy. He was running after another boy, who was waiting impatiently around the corner. They both had a small stack of papers in their hands and ratty bags around their shoulders. Andrew grabbed his crutch, and after struggling to stand up, hobbled over to the boys.

"Aw come on, Buttons," the first one shouted impatiently. "We's got to get goin! Wiesel ain't gonna wait fo us before sellin out all da papes!"

"Stop ya bawlin," the boy called Buttons shouted back. "I'm comin, I'm comin! Not my fault my damn shoelace broke. Had to steal anudder lace off some bum who was sleepin a few blocks back!" He finally reached his friend and they were just about to run off together when Andrew yelled after them.

"Hey! Wait up!" he shouted. The two boys turned around and looked at Andrew. They waited until he reached them. "Hiya fellas. Listen, is dere anyway you's can help me? Well me and my sista, she's still sleepin in that alley. We left our house last night, on account of our Pop givin us a beatin, and we's got nowhere to go."

The two looked at one another and seemed to communicate without speaking any words. Andrew suddenly became worried they might not be the friendly type. They were both taller than he was but were rather skinny. Andrew had to guess they were at least four or five years older than him. Add in his gimp leg and he would never be able to take them in a fight. Luckily, they turned back to Andrew and addressed him.

"How old are ya kid? And ya sista?" the first boy said.

"We're both twelve, we's twins, ya see," he explained. The boy nodded to the other.

"Alright, we's gonna help ya out, only cuz we's nice, ya see," Buttons said. "But we's really gots to be goin. We sell papes, ya see, and we's already runnin behind. Just keep walking up this street, 'bout five or six blocks, 'til ya see an old pub and a barber shop next to it. Then take a left there and there should be a big, tall building wit lots a windows. Dere's a sign outside dat says, 'Boys House,' alright? Can ya read, kid?" Andrew nodded.

"Ok, so go there and inside dere should be a nice lookin old man with a black hat and blue striped shirt," Buttons continued. "He'll help ya out. Tell him Buttons and Snake sent ya, alright? Good luck, kid." They turned and ran off. Andrew was relieved he finally had something to do. He hobbled back to their alley, woke up Essie, and explained what they were gonna do.

An hour later, they were standing in front of the building that Buttons had described. Andrew and Essie looked at each other for encouragement and walked inside. Just like Buttons said, there was an old man sitting at the counter, reading a paper. Andrew and Essie walked up to the counter but he didn't notice them. Essie cleared her throat and the man peeked over his paper. He put it down when he saw it was two small children, one a girl and one with a bum leg.

"Hiya kids," he said kindly. "Can I help you?"

"Buttons and Snake told us to come here," Andrew explained. Essie then told the man that they left their home and never intended to go back. She said they had no other family and nowhere else to go.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"We's both twelve, sir," Essie replied politely. "We's twins."

"Ah, that explains why you look so much alike," he smiled. He looked down at the twins, noticing now even more similarities between them. They both had sandy, blonde hair and green eyes. Their noses were also covered with freckles. "Well I have some good news and some bad news. I'll be glad to let you stay, boy, in exchange for selling papers for Mr. Pulitzer. But I'm afraid this young lady won't be able to stay. See this is a boarding house for boys only."

"I'm not leavin without my sista," Andrew said immediately. "Whereva, she goes, I go." The man looked at the two children standing strongly next to each other. He sighed and rubbed his head.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal," he said. "She can stay so long as she sells papers too. I know it's not a girl's job to sell papes but anyone staying here has to sell for Mr. Pulitzer."

"I'll do it. Can't be dat hard," Essie shrugged. "Better than sleepin in da alley." The man smiled.

"Alright, then it looks like we have two new boarders," he said, pulling out a book. "What are your names?"

"I'm Andrew and this is Essie," Andrew said. "Andrew and Essie Boyer."

"Oh so you know your last name then, that's good," the man said, writing it down. "Most kids in here don't even know their first name, seeing as about half of them are orphans. Never met their parents, you see."

"Oh we's not orphans, sir," Andrew said. "Our ma died when we was born, and we left our pop's house yesterday." The man stopped writing and looked up.

"Now, young man, I'm afraid I have to report any runaways to the police," he said gravely. Andrew became panicked but it was Essie who calmly spoke.

"We had to leave, sir," she explained. "He was always beatin on us, that's how come I got this big bump on my head." She showed him her head and he grimaced.

"And it's how come Andrew's leg ain't so good. Pop threw him down the stair when we was bout five years old. Our pop told us he loved the bottle more than us. So we left yestaday afta anotha bad beatin. We couldn't just stay there, ya see?" He nodded gravely and then scratched out his writing.

"Then I suggest you two adopt some new names," he said. "If you ran away, your old man might report it and a police officer might come looking for you. And they come here first thing and check my books."

"We can't just not have names, sir," Andrew said, confused. The man laughed

"Just give a day or two and you'll find that the other boys have given you some nicknames. You didn't really think those boys you met were really called Buttons and Snake, did you?" The children laughed.

"I'll just put down James Smith and Jane Martin, alright," he said, writing it in the book. "That way the police won't find any kids in this book with the same last name. That way, they won't come looking for a pair of siblings." They nodded in understanding.

"Alright, I'll take you upstairs then," he said. He came out from behind the counter and picked up the small bag that Essie had been carrying. He led them up a short flight of stairs before coming into a large room with rows and rows of bunk beds. He walked down the center before coming to an empty set. He put the bag on the bottom bed. He sat down on it and gestured for the children to do the same.

"This here will do well," he said. "Essie, you can have the top so Andrew won't have to climb the ladder. Now since it's early in the morning, no one's going to be home for quite some time, maybe not until five or six o'clock. Dinner is served at 7:30. Now, it ain't much but it's better than nothing at all. The Sisters from the convent down the street provide some bread and coffee in the mornings so you're on your own for lunch. The bathroom is at the end of this room and everyone shares it. Essie, we might be able to negotiate you using the private bathroom but I'm afraid for now you'll have to share it with the boys."

"It's ok. I've had to share tings with Andrew my whole life," she said.

"There's a closet right outside this hallway with some blankets and pillows, so be sure to get some for yourselves," the man continued explaining. "Now I wake everyone up in the morning around six o'clock. That way you have enough time to wake up, get dressed, get breakfast from the Sisters, and head off to buy your papes. It shouldn't be too hard for the both of you to sell papes, seeing as you have a bum leg and you're a girl. But I suggest asking some of the older boys for help. They're all nice here. They'll protect you for a bit, take you under their wings. You'll find that they'll be a better family than your pop ever was to you." He stood up and started walking out of the room.

"I'll leave you two to get settled and rest up," he said. "Essie, if your head starts hurting, come find me and I'll give you some medicine but you can put a cold cloth on it if you want. There are some on the bathroom shelf. Oh, and I'm Mr. Kloppman by the way." He walked out of the room and left the children in silence.

"I'll go get you a cloth for your head, Essie," Andrew said after a few moments. He stood up but Essie stopped him.

"Andy, you don't gotta-" He stopped her.

"Yeah, I gotta," he smiled. "You're my sista. I gots to protect ya." She smiled and let him get the cloth. She put the soothing cloth to her head and felt some pain relief. He made her lay down on the bed and get some sleep while he went to get their blankets and pillows. When he came back, she was sound asleep. He put a pillow and blanket up on the top bunk. He slid the other pillow under her head and covered her with the blanket. Then he sat on the floor, stretching out his bad leg, and leaned against the bed. He then picked up their bag and searched through what Essie had packed.

Inside the bag, Andrew found a small sack of coins, one or two of her dresses, and a few of his trousers and shirts. She had also stolen two of Pop's coats and hats. He opened the sack of money and counted out $1.14. A lot of money to a kid but not enough to keep them alive more than a few weeks. It sure was a good thing they had found Mr. Klappman. As Andrew was putting the money back in the bag, he saw one last thing: a photograph of their mother. It had been taken on her wedding day. Andrew had known that Essie stole it from Pop's desk when they were eight but he now thought it silly that she had packed it. But he put it back anyway and closed the bag. He found himself suddenly very tired, understandably so as they had only gotten a few restless hours sleep in an alley, and curled up next to Essie before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Essie woke up several hours later when she heard the sudden boom of many voices shouting and laughing. She realized it was the boys returning back after finishing work for the day. She woke up Andrew, not wanting to meet these boys alone, and they stood at the end of their bed, ready to greet the boys.

They came running inside the room, laughing and talking loudly. Most of them wore hats of some kind, either caps or bowler hats. They wore worn out clothing with holes in them and faded colors. All of their shoes, Essie noticed, were almost worn down to the sole. She saw some boy with his big toe poking out through a hole in the front. And they were all covered in dirt. They were all of various ages; some looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. There was one boy who looked to be almost eighteen. Some of the smaller kids might have been thirteen but Essie and Andrew began to assume they were the youngest in the room.

The talking slowed down as the boys realized there were strangers in the room. Eventually the group of about eight boys stopped in their tracks and stared at the siblings. Finally, someone said something.

"Hey, who are the hoity-toity kids?" a kid in the front shouted loudly. Some of the others laughed but one hit the back of the kid's head.

"It's those kids Kloppman told us bout just now," he said. This boy was black and the dirt he was covered in made him even blacker. He walked forward and extended a hand. He gave a friendly smile to Essie and Andrew as they each shook his hand.

"Hey, kids, I'm Boots," he introduced himself.

"How old are you?" Andrew asked, holding tightly onto his crutch out of nerves. Boots laughed.

"Aw, calm down kid," he said. "I'm not gonna hurtcha. I'm almost fourteen. Kloppman told me you's was both twelve. So ya twins, huh?" One of the boys, this one wearing an eye patch, stepped up.

"Really? I ain't never met a twin before," he said excitedly. "Nice to meetcha. Names Kid Blink."

"My name is And-" Essie elbowed him sharply and he stopped talking.

"Mista Kloppman told us that we should get new names on account of our pop," she explained. "He might be out lookin for us."

"You's two's runaways?" another kid said.

"Yeah, we ran away yestaday," Andrew said. "Our pop ain't a kind man."

"I gotcha," another boy said. "My pop used to be the same way before he got arrested."

"Don't you's two worry," Kid Blink said. "We'll find a nickname for ya in no time."

"Hey kid, how'd you get that gimp?" one of the younger boys blurted out. It was followed by Boots smacking him upside the head.

"Hey shut-up, Loudmouth," he said. "Dere's something called manners."

"What about 'em?" Loudmouth asked.

"You should get some!" Boots said, earning some laughs from the others.

"It's ok, I don't mind them askin," Andrew said. "Like we's said, our pop ain't a kind man. He drinks a lot and when I was little, he pushed me down some stairs. My leg's been bad eva since."

"Is that why ya need da crutch?" the smallest boy asked.

"Course that's why, Mouse," Loudmouth said. "Don't be stupid." For the next thirty minutes, as more boys began coming in, the children were asked more questions. Where were they from? Why did they leave? Why did Kloppman let Essie stay? Had they ever sold papes before?

"Alright, alright, calm down," a booming voice suddenly said. A tall boy entered the room. He looked to be the oldest of all the boys, he was bound to be eighteen. He was very tan, most likely from working outside in the sun all day, every day. He had a presence of authority. As soon as he walked in the room, the group, which had grown to an enormous size, parted waters to allow him to walk to the center. He held out a hand and shook each of the siblings' hands.

"Nice to meet cha," he said. "Name's Sneak. Now dinna's gonna be soived in a few minutes so we's all gonna clean up and then we'll continue this little chat afta we's all eat. That ok?" He turned around to the group. They all nodded, disappointed that Sneak had interrupted an exciting conversation, and dispersed. Sneak watched as some of the boys went to their beds and others to the bathroom. Then he turned back to the children and crouched down to their level.

"Now, what's a crutch like you and a doll like you doin in a place like this?" he asked them. They quickly summarized their story, having told it over and over in the past thirty minutes, and he nodded when they finished.

"Well I'm very sorry that happened to you's kids," he said. "But we's a family of our own here. We's gonna keep you safe from dat old man o' yours. Now, let's go get some dinna togetha, huh? You's two hungry?" They nodded.

"We haven't eaten since yestaday mornin," Andrew said. "O' course, Pop neva cared much to feed us regular meals so we's used to be hungry."

"That just makes me so angry," Sneak said, standing up straight. "That a fatha can let his two, very nice kids go hungry."

"What about your fatha?" Andrew asked.

"My pop died when I was eight," he said. "He got sick and me mudda couldn't afford no docta so he died. Then mudda wasn't makin much money. So's I came here. I go to visit her one and a while, to check up on my kid brudda and all. They's doin ok with my extra money but I'm almost eighteen and I won't be able to stay here no mores. Then me brudda's gonna have to come here. But I'm gonna teach him all I knows."

"Do you know a lot?" Andrew asked. Sneak nodded. He put a guiding hand on both siblings' shoulders and walked with them to the door. They walked slowly so Andrew could keep up.

"I'm gonna let you's two stick wit me for bit," he said. "When we goes out tomorrow mornin, yous two is gonna come wit me, and I'll show ya what to do. Shouldn't be too hard for two little kids to sell papes." Andrew and Essie sat with Sneak at dinner as more of the boys asked them questions. Sneak tried to get everyone to calm down and leave them alone but gave up after a few minutes.

After they cleaned up their plates, everyone went up to the bunkroom. A few boys climbed into their beds and went to sleep. Some of them sat in their beds to read or write. But a few boys formed circles and began playing games of cards, marbles, and dominos. Sneak joined the circle of kids playing marbles and gestured for Andrew and Essie to join them. Andrew sat on the outskirts of the circle so he could stretch out his leg but faced inwards. Essie went to sit next to Andrew but Sneak and Boots invited to sit in between them Andrew offered a smile of encouragement, and she joined them.

Essie felt very odd being surround by so many boys. The only boy she had ever been around was Andrew and maybe one or two of his friends. But Andrew had always been there by her side and now he wasn't. Instead she tried to focus on the game of marbles in front of her. She had seen some boys playing marbles when she was little and found it an interesting game. She dragged Andrew outside time and time again to watch the boys play the game. After a few days, the boys noticed them watching and asked if they wanted to play. Essie had eagerly accepted but let the boys know she didn't know how to play. Five games later it became apparent that she obviously did know what she was doing and was winning every game.

Now, sitting in this circle with people she had just met, Essie felt like she had to prove herself. She had to show these boys that she wasn't any girly girl. She could be tough like them. She could play with them and beat them. She watched as the boy called Shoots drew a large circle with a piece of charcoal. He dumped a bag of marbles onto the floor and quickly arranged them into a cross.

"Alright, who's playing this round?" he asked, smacking his hands together excitedly.

"I will," Essie said bravely. Some of the guys laughed, others clapped their hands. She blushed at their reactions.

"Aw, this ain't no goily game, dollface," Shoots said. "I don't want ya to lose and cry about it."

"I ain't not dollface," Essie replied indignantly. "I thinks you's just afraid of losin to a little girl."

"Oooooohhhhh!" called out many of the boys. Shoots smiled but handed her a marble. Essie ignored the laughs and calls and concentrated on hitting the marbles. She snapped the marble out of her hand and smiled as it collided with the other marbles. Several went flying out of the circle.

"Well, dollface, this game's a gonna get interestin here," Shoots said. Five minutes later, Shoots had not had a single turn and Essie had just beat him at his own game. The other boys laughed as Shoots accused her of cheating.

"Well, well, well," Sneaks said. "Did you know that Shoots had never been beat before? That's why he's called Shoots, cuz he's always shootin marbles."

"Not anymore," Essie said proudly. Everyone laughed.

"Well, Dollface, we's just got to keep an eye on ya now," Boots said, gathering up the marbles and starting another game.

"I told ya not to call me dollface," Essie said crossly. "I ain't no doll."

"It's ya name now," Sneaks said. "Ya betta git used to it!"

"Don't I has a say in my own name?" Essie asked.

"Nope!" everyone called out.

"Just ask, Wuss," Kid Blink said. "He screamed at spida once and has neva forgot about it!" The kid named Wuss jumped at Kid Blink and started play fighting with him. Everyone cheered them one when Kloppman came in the room.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he shouted, clapping his hands loudly. "What's this all about? Break it up, quit it!" He shouted, walking over to Wuss and Kid Blink rolling around on the floor. They laughed and Kid Blink stood up, giving a hand to Wuss, who took it and stood up.

"Alright, alright, lights out in five minutes," Kloppman shouted. There were many groans and protest but Kloppman put his hands up.

"Hey you're the ones who have to get up at six o'clock, not me," he said. "Besides, you've got two newsies to train."

"Don't worry, Kloppman," Sneak said. "I'm gonna watch Dollface and the crutch tomorrow."

"Dollface, huh?" he said, looking at Essie. She rolled her eyes and stalked off to her bed. Kloppman laughed. "Seems fitting. Get in bed, now, you've wasted enough time as it is! Cut out those lights!"

"Ya getting cranky in ya old age, gramps," Sneak laughed as he walked to cut out the light in the back of the room. Everyone was climbing into their beds, and Kloppman was saying good night to a few boys.

"You don't get this way without a little help, Sneak," Kloppman said. "Night boys, see you in the mornin!" There were calls of "good night" as Sneak cut out the light.

Essie lay in her bed above Andrew and stared at the ceiling as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Twenty-four hours ago she and Andrew were wandering the streets and sleeping in an alley. And now she had new friends and a safe place to stay. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep hoping things would begin to get better.


	3. Chapter 3

It felt like Essie had just closed her eyes when she opened them again. Kloppman was standing next to her, gently shaking her awake. She groaned and rubbed her eyes at the bright light.

"Glad to see you're awake," he smiled. He walked around, waking up some of the other boys that didn't wake up when he turned on the light. Essie sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around to see only a few boys out of bed. Most of them were still lying in their beds, not wanting to get up. Essie hopped down from her bed and saw Andrew was still asleep. She nudged him playfully.

"Wake up big brutha," she said. He peeped one eye open before groaning and rolling over.

"Only olda by a minute," he mumbled before closing his eyes again. She nudged him playfully in the side and he squirmed to escape her tickling hands.

"Leave me alone, would ya?" he asked, swatting her away.

"I'm gonna go clean up, when I get back yous betta be up," she said authoritatively. "Or else."

"Aw, shuddup," he mumbled before rolling over again. She laughed and walked toward the bathroom. She was glad only a few other boys were up. She wasn't sure how she felt about sharing a bathroom with so many boys but figured she'd get used to it. She walked inside and went to one of the many bathroom sinks. Essie was barely able to see over it and couldn't reach the faucet. She struggle to reach for it when she felt a tickle under her outstretched arm. She yanked it away and looked up to see Sneak there.

"Need some help," he asked. He didn't wait for an answer and turned around to pick up an old wooden crate. "Here, use this. Some of the smalla boys can't reach the sinks neither." He set it down and she stepped up on it. She thanked him and he walked away to his own sink. Essie washed her hands and face before drying off on an old towel that was hanging on the racks. She was leaving when Sneak stopped her.

"Hey is that the only clothes yous got?" he asked.

"I brought some more," she said. "Not much, but I packed some extra clothes for my brutha and me."

"Can you wear some of the crutch's clothes?" he asked. "It don't look so good having a goil sell papes."

"People is gonna know I'm a goil anyway," she said.

"Yeah I know that but it just ain't right to sell papes in a dress," he said. "It'll be more comfortable anyhows. You'll be warmer in a pair of trousers." She nodded and walked back to their bunk. Andrew was still asleep.

"Hey, wake up!" she yelled at him. He didn't stir. Growing very impatient, she shoved Andrew off his bed so he landed on the floor. He grunted when he landed with a thud and sat up.

"Hey what was that for?" he shouted at her. "I coulda hurt my leg!"

"Shut up," she said back as she opened their bag. "Now just go get ready!" He muttered something under his breath before grabbing his crutch and walking towards the bathroom.

Ten minutes later everyone was up and ready to go. Essie had changed into Andrew's extra clothes like Sneak asked and had to admit she felt much more comfortable in trousers than a dress. She realized how much more she could move and run around and began to run around when they got outside. Wuss and Sneak laughed as she jumped over anything and everything.

Essie and Andrew stuck with Sneak, like he told them too, and followed him as they got bread and coffee from the Sisters. Essie and Andrew didn't like the bitter taste of the coffee so Sneak told them to go drink from a spicket that was around the corner. After returning quickly, they all continued to the Paper Distribution Center. As they walked, Sneak was telling them some helpful pieces of advice.

"Now yous two just gotta ignore da Dalancey bruddas," he said. "They's about a year or so younga than me but they's still pack a punch. But mostly all they's do is botha ya and annoy ya. Just ignore them and don't cause any trouble."

"Now ya get two papes per cent. Today only spend about a dime between ya. If ya sell 'em all today, yous can buy more tomorrow. How old did you's say you was? Twelve, right?" They nodded.

"Alright, if anyone asks, ya nine," he said. "The younga ya are, the more sympathy ya get, and the more papes ya sell. Hey, crutch, you gotta play up ya gimp leg, alright? Act like it's hoiten ya real bad and that da only way you can pay for a docta is if you sell these papes."

"That's lyin," he said.

"That's business," Sneak shrugged. They had reached the center and were standing outside the currently closed gates. He looked at Essie and smiled.

"Alright now all you's gotta do is act all cute and goily," he said. "Make 'em feel bad that a goil's out sellin papes, alright?"

"I don't know how to act cute and goily," Essie said.

"Aw sure ya do, ya name's Dollface," he said. "Ya got it in ya somewheres. Just, uh…" He trailed off scratching the back of his neck. He seemed to be struggling to find his words.

"Just if any man or boy asks ya something like, 'how much for a night' just say no and walk away," he said gravely. "Do ya understand what I'm sayin here?" Essie nodded.

"Pop wanted me to do that a couple months back when he ran outta money and wanted to buy more booze," she replied nonchalantly.

"I'm punched him the face," Andrew said proudly. Sneak smiled.

"You's a good brudda, crutch, gimp or no gimp," he said. The gates were unlocked and the boys swarmed inside. While they were waiting in line, two boys came walking past the line, occasionally shoving a boy with their shoulders. They were very tall and looked very strong. They both had on bowler hats and much nicer clothing than any of the boys standing in line. When they began approaching Sneak, Andrew, and Essie, Sneak leaned over his shoulder.

"Lucky yous," he said. "You's about to meet Oscar and Morris Delancey. Just remember what I said, don't let 'em botha ya." Sure enough, they came right up to Essie and Andrew and stood towering over them.

"Well, well, well," the first one said, looking down at them. "Looks like we gots some new meat, Morris."

"Seems dat way, Oscar," Morris replied. "A gimp and a goil."

"Neva seen a sorrier bunch," Oscar said, kicking Andrew's crutch out from under him. Essie reacted quickly, though, and caught him before he hit the ground. Sneak spun around and picked up Andrew's crutch.

"Hey, why don't ya go pick on someone ya own size?" he said to the boys, brandishing the crutch like a weapon. They backed away, raising their hands as if surrendering.

"Hey, we don't wants no trouble," Oscar said. "We's just tryin to make some new friends, ain't we?"

"Sure we are," Morris replied, beginning to move down the line again. "We'll see ya later, gimp. You's two little goil." Sneak watched them walk away and then handed Andrew his crutch.

"Like I said, you just can't let 'em botha ya," he said. "Just show 'em whose boss." After waiting in line for a long time, Sneak walked up and ordered thirty cents worth of papers. Andrew and Essie gaped as he picked up his large stack of papers and folded them up in his bag.

"Next!" a gruff voice called out. Andrew pushed Essie forward and followed her as she laid down a dime.

"Ahhhh… looks like we got us a girly-girl," the man said. He was behind a thing glass window but Essie could still smell the alcohol on his breath. He scratched his patchy beard and laughed. Essie grimaced please.

"Twenty papes please," she said. He leaned up closer to her through the window.

"Sellin papes ain't no job for no girly-girl," he said, baring disgusting yellow, rotten teeth.

"She ain't no goily-goil," Andrew said, stepping up. "Just give us our papes, would ya?"

"Who's this girly-girl?" the gross man asked. "Ya boyfriend?"

"He's my brutha," she said proudly. "Now gives us our papes." He grumbled loudly but gave them their papers anyway. Andrew grabbed them off the counter and walked off annoyed.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Essie said to the man before following her brother. Andrew counted out ten papers and handed half to Essie. They both put them in their bags and went to sit next to Sneak. He had the paper sitting open on his legs and was scanning the pages quickly.

"Whacha doin?" Andrew asked.

"Readin da headlines," he said, while flipping a page. "It helps to sell da papes if ya know whats in 'em. Look for sometin that sounds real interestin. Sometin that would make you want to read it." Andrew took out a paper and read the front page.

"Dry Fall in New York," Andrew read out. Sneak glanced at him.

"See, not so interestin," he said. He pointed to an article in his paper. "But this might do sometin. 'Fire Kills Two.'"

"But that's no headline," Andrew said.

"It's called stretchin da truth," he said, closing his paper. "Sure, it's only a paragraph or so but dat's what da people like. Fires, destruction, wars, death."

"That's awful," Essie said.

"That's business," Sneak said again. He hopped up and turned to the kids. "But let's get goin. I'm gonna be sellin papes as we walk to my usual spot so just watch what I do and try to pick up sometin." They followed Sneak as he waved goodbye to the rest of the boys and walked out of the gates.

"Extry, extry!" he shouted at anyone who walked past. "Get cha morning pape, hot off the press!" A woman walked up to him, gave him a nickel and took a paper in return.

"You have a nice day ma'am!" Sneak shouted after her. "Extry, extry! Get cha papers! Be da foist to read today's news!" Two business men walked up and paid Sneak for their papers and walked away. After walking a block, Sneak had sold at least ten papers. When they finally reached Sneak's spot, a corner just outside the barber shop, Sneak turned to them.

"Alright, now yous two try," he said. "Look, there's some ladies comin over dis way. Dollface, go give 'em a try. Remember what I said. Be cute." He shoved Essie off in the direction of the two women. She stumbled in front of them.

"Sorry to interrupt ya morning, misses," she said as sweetly as she could. "But would ya like to buy a pape?" They cooed at her and smiled. They handed over their coins and she gave them their papers.

"Yous two have a nice day," she said, and curtsied. One of the women sighed.

"Oh I wish my Sally would have manners like you," she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out another coin. "Here, have another nickel."

"Thank ya, ma'am!" Essie said as the two women walked away. She looked at the coins in her hand and shoved them into her pocket, another advantage she found to trousers. She ran over to Andrew and Sneak.

"Nice one, Dollface!" Sneak said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Can't believe ya got an extra coin ya foist time." Some businessmen were walking towards them, and Sneak gave Andrew a pat on the shoulder.

"Alright, time to put dat crutch to good use," he said. Andrew hobbled over to the men as weakly as possible.

"Pardon me, but would either of ya like a pape? Hot off da presses," he said hopefully. They shook their heads and started walking again. Andrew looked over his shoulder back to Sneak and Essie. They were giving him nods of encouragement. He took a deep breath and hobbled back to the men.

"Sorry to interrupt again but I really needs to sell these papes," he said, frowning. "My ma can't afford a docta for me leg and I have to sell these here papes so I can get my leg looked at. Please." The men rolled their eyes but gave them their money anyway.

"Ehh that was good for your foist time," Sneak said when Andrew came back to them. "But you'll get better. Ya not a natural like Dollface but we'll get the both of ya sellin plenty of papes in no time. Ya shouldn't have no problem sellin da rest of your papes today so maybe yous should buy more tomorrow. Alright, I'm gonna leave yous two now. Just stick around this area and you's gonna be golden."

"But where are you goin?" Essie asked, not wanting to be left on their own again.

"To one of me otha spots," he said. "I got lots of 'em. If ya get hungry, sometimes da baker down da road gives away da bread dats no good anymore. He'll definitely give it to two kids like you. I'll see ya tonight, ok." He waved to them and disappeared into the crowd. Essie gave a worried look to Andrew but he have a brave smile back.

"We can do this, alright," he said. "Look, I'll take dis side right here and you go on da otha side down to da otha corna. We'll be in eyesigh of each otha, ok?" Essie nodded and went over to where Andrew said to go. She was nervous, selling papers by herself, not even Andrew was there. Sure he was right across the street but she liked his company.

But one thing was for sure. Sneak was right; Essie was a natural at selling papers. Each time someone walked by she became a perfect angel, curtsying, saying sir and ma'am, being polite. She had only had one paper left when her stomach growled. She looked over to Andrew, who had just sold a paper to an old man, and grabbed his attention. She gestured to her stomach and he nodded. She pointed to the paper to ask how many he had left. She held up one finger and he held up three. She nodded and tried to sell her last paper but the last of the crowd had passed. She looked up at the sun to try and guess the time. She guessed it was around noon at that point and decided it was time for lunch. She rolled up her remaining paper, put it in her bag, and walked over to Andrew.

"Don't know bout you, but I'm starvin," she said. He nodded in agreement and put his remaining papers in his bag. "Let's go find dat bakery Sneak told us bout."

They walked a block or so up the street in the direction Sneak had pointed to and found the bakery easily. It was empty when they walked inside. There was only one man wiping the counter off with a rag. He looked to be very young, maybe early twenties, and had some flour on his nose. He looked up when he heard the door opened. Andrew took the initiative and hobbled up to him.

"Scuse me, sir," he said pathetically. "But would ya like to buy a pape?" The man chuckled.

"Nice try, sonny," he said. "I seen that trick before. But I'll take one anyhow, haven't read the news today yet."

"We'll give you a pape for some bread," Essie thought quickly. He chuckled again.

"I'll tell ya what," he said, turning around to walk in a back room. "I'll pay ya for the pape and give ya some bread anyhow. It's a bit burnt but it still tastes fine." He returned moments later from the room with a large loaf of bread. It was burn on the bottom but it still looked tasty to Andrew and Essie. They took the bread and the money and handed over the paper. They left smiling and waving.

"Thank ya, sir!" Essie said sweetly. He gave a friendly wave before returning to wiping the counter. Essie and Andrew sat down on the curb as Essie broke the bread in two pieces, handing one to Andrew. Despite the burnt bottom, it was still warm and tasted delicious. After a few silent minutes, they had devoured their pieces. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. They decided to walk down another block or so before finding a new spot. It was right outside a dingy old bar that they decided they would sell their last four papers.

They were able to sell them to an alcoholic, stumbling into the bar, another businessman, a man, whose wife had begged him to pay the crippled boy for the paper, and a man who had made a bet with his companions about the front page contents. He laughed as his friends coughed up money, and he reward Essie with an extra coin before walking off. Essie ran excitedly over to Andrew.

"That was our last pape," she said happily. She took all of the coins out of her pocket, as did Andrew, and began eagerly counting them.

"I think we's got enough for a seltzer down the road at that pub," Andrew said. "Ya know, that one that Buttons told us about yestaday? He told me last night that's wheres most of the boys end up at some point in the day." Essie nodded and they made their way back down the street.

Then as they passed by an alley, a hand reached out and grabbed Essie. She was pulled into the darkened alley and shoved against the wall. The back of her head hit the wall hard, and she couldn't see anything for a few frightening moments. All she could smell was alcohol and the scent of a man who hadn't bathed in months. Beside her he heard Andrew shout something before being shoved down and yelling out in pain. Essie didn't need to regain her vision to know it was their father.

"Let me go," she shouted, trying to pull away his arm. He had it laid across her chest, grabbing tightly onto her right shoulder, and pinning her up against the wall. His wrist was also pushing into her windpipe slightly. He rested his other hand on the wall above her and leaned into her face.

"Ya little brat," he snarled. "Why'd ya hafta run away like that, huh? We's was a happy family, weren't we? You, me, and the gimp."

"We's not a family no more," she huffed out, already getting tired from struggling. "Me and Andrew is on our own nows. We don't needs ya now. We neva needed you."

"Aw, ya don't mean that," he said haughtily. He began stroking her cheek, making Essie flinch away. But he had too strong a hold on her and he continued to roughly caress her face.

"Andrew, go get one of the boys," she shouted quickly. She saw he had just gotten to his feet again and was coming to help her.

"I ain't leavin-" he protested.

"Just go!" she shouted. He hesitated for a moment before he hopped off as fast as he could.

"Thanks for gettin rid of him," the drunken man said. "Now we's can be alone." He roughly began to kiss her face while touching her thigh with his free hand. She kicked her legs around, making it harder for him to touch her but he still was much stronger than her. She finally spit in his face. He was caught by surprise and briefly let go of his strong hold on her. She took her chance and stomped on his foot hard before running off.

But his longer legs carried him farther and faster and he caught up to her. She screamed as he grabbed her from behind and carried her back into the alley. He threw her hard on the ground. Essie cried out in pain as she felt something in her arm break. But still she didn't give up fighting and scooted as quickly away from the man. She kicked him in the face, but apparently not hard enough, as he merely flinched and kept advancing towards her. Essie backed up against a wall and found herself at a dead end. She was cornered. She could only hope that Andrew was on the way.

"Aw, come on, now," he said, sinisterly. "Don't be like that." He crawled over top of her and pinned both her arms to the ground.

"Get off me, ya drunk!" she shouted.

"Relax sweetheart, we's goin back home in just a minute," he said and began roughly kissing her face and neck again.

"Her names Dollface," Essie heard someone say before she felt him fly off of her body. She looked up to see Sneak, Kid Blink, and Shoots throwing punches at the drunk. Andrew rushed over to Essie's side to see if she was ok. They both watched as their father stumbled into a standing position and was at the end of the alley.

"Watch out, the both of ya," he warned, pointing a lazy finger at Essie and Andrew. "I'm gonna get ya back. You'll see. You just watch ya backs, ya hear?"

"Get the hell outta here!" Shoots yelled as he stumbled off. "Don't come back!"

"Ess- er I mean, Dollface, ya ok?" Andrew asked worriedly. Essie saw his eye was starting to swell up, presumably from a punch from their father. "I brought help soon as I could. What happened, what'd he do to ya?"

"I'm ok," she said, grabbing her brother's face with her left hand. She gently cupped his cheek. "Thanks for helpin me out." He frowned.

"Why'd ya send me away?" he asked.

"Aw, come on, don't be like dis," she said, annoyed.

"Naw, I gotta right to be like dis," he argued. "Ya can't just send me away likes I'm some little flowa. I'm not some dumb crip."

"Leave her alone, Crutchie," Sneak said, walking over. "You's two can continue dis conversation later, alright? Dollface, ain't lookin so good."

"I'm fine," she protested as she leaned up on her arms but a pain shot through her right arm like a bullet and she cried out.

"Aw shit, no ya not," Sneak said. He looked at her arm and grimaced. Essie looked down too and saw that it was bent in an awful looking position. She didn't know how she hadn't passed out from the pain.

"Alright, we's gonna get ya back to da house," Sneak said, looking away from her arm. "Kloppman will fix ya up real good and you's can rest for today. But let's get goin before dat pop of yours comes back." Essie watched as Andrew sulked away, turning his back on Essie and Sneak. He joined Shoots and Kid Blink, who had been watching them, and they began walking towards the house.

"What's up wit him?" Sneak asked.

"He's mad at me," she said, struggling to sit up with one good arm.

"Here, let me helps ya," Sneak said, and he scooped up Essie in one swoop.

"Ya don't have to carry me," she protested. "I'm fine, put me down."

"Ya not fine, ya just nearly escaped a bad attack from the man formerly known as ya fatha and ya arm's broken," he said firmly. "Can't ya just accept a little help?" Essie was quiet for a few minutes before thinking of something.

"Hey, why'd ya call my brotha, Crutchie?" she asked Sneak. He chuckled.

"Some of the otha boys has been talkin bout you two," he said. "We kept callin him 'the crutch' and soon it came Crutchie. We thought, hey why not? It's fittin, ain't it?"

"I don't think he's gonna like it too much," Essie said under her breath. When they reached the boarding house, Kloppman was waiting at the door, as Kid Blink, Shoots, and Andrew had gotten there a few minutes before them. He ran over to them, already examining Essie.

"What happened to ya, huh?" he asked playfully. "I send ya out for one day and ya come back with a broken arm and a brother with a black eye."

"Why don't ya ask our fatha?" Essie replied bitterly. Kloppman said nothing but followed them as Sneak carried Essie up the stairs. Sneak gently laid her down on Andrew's bed, as it was on the bottom, and moved aside for Kloppman to sit next to Essie. He looked at her head and asked her to tell them where she got hurt. She said her head hit the wall pretty hard, and he had a strong hold on her right shoulder. Kloppman said her right arm was definitely broken, and then asked one last time if anything else happened. Essie hesitated, looking at Andrew who was standing next to Sneak.

"Dollface, what happened?" Kloppman asked again. She wasn't sure what to say and thankfully Sneak spoke up.

"Did he, uh, touch you?" he asked carefully. "Rough you up?" She nodded as Andrew looked downcast and Sneak threw his hat angrily at the wall.

"Calm down, would ya?" she said. "I'm fine, look! I just got a bum arm now, just like my bum brutha." He didn't smile or laugh but instead turned his back to her and leaned up against the bed post.

"But ya not fine," Sneak said, as Kloppman began bandaging her arm. "Don't ya see? I left ya alone for two hours and look what happened."

"Sneak, this wasn't your fault," Kloppman said sternly, still focused on Essie's arm.

"Yeah it is, I knew dat their fatha was afta them and I let them go without so much as a warnin," he yelled. He punched the wall out of anger and frustration and for the first time, Essie was frightened of his strength. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Andrew and Essie.

"We's gonna protect ya, ya hear?" he told them. "We's not gonna let that bum of a fatha come near ya. He ain't gonna hurt ya no mores. We's gonna toughen ya both up, show ya how to handle yourselves on da streets. Ya gonna be able to walk those streets without any fear of ya fatha."

He snatched his hat from the ground and went to join Shoots and Kid Blink, who had been waiting at the entrance to the room. They all turned and left, leaving Kloppman alone with the siblings. He quietly finished wrapping Essie's arm and then made a sling out of a ripped up piece of fabric. He ordered that she stay in bed the remainder of the day to rest the growing bump on the back of her head. He stood up and began walking out of the room before turning around in the door frame.

"It's a lucky think you two have each other," he said, looking from Andrew to Essie. Essie nodded, looking to Andrew, who still had his back to her, as Kloppman left them alone.

They sat through a tense few minutes of silence, neither moving, neither talking. Essie just sat on the bed, thinking about what Kloppman had said. Andrew stood at the end of the bed sulking. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I'm glad you're ok," he said, not turning to face her, "But I just wish you woulda let me help ya. Ya wouldn't have a busted up arm if I had stayed."

"And then what," Essie said. "You woulda gotten tossed around like a salad and we'd both be busted up? I sent ya away cuz he was preoccupied wit me. Ya got a chance to run, so I made ya take it."

"So you can hold ya own against a drunken, grown man?" he asked angrily, turning around to face her. "And I couldn't?"

"You's got a crutch!" she shouted. "You's got a gimp leg!"

"Yeah I do but that don't mean I can't fight," he shouted back. "I don't need nobody to stick up for da crip. I can do just fine on my own."

"Well maybe I can do fine on my own too!" she yelled, not entirely meaning it.

"Well maybe I'll just leave ya wit ya new friends," he said bitterly, hobbling towards the door. "They seems to be taken a liking to ya pretty damn fast. They don't got no room for me in their fancy newsboy lives. I'll be seein ya, maybe." He left the room but Essie shouted after him anyway.

"Fine, then be that way!" she shouted, the anger in her reaching its height. "I hopes ya find new friends who can treats ya betta than I can! Have a nice life!"

She sat back against her pillow and let out a scream of frustration and anger. But as she simmered down, she slowly realized how alone she was now. The empty room felt even emptier by the fact that Andrew had just stormed out on her. They never fought. They always were each other's best friend and loving sibling. She finally came to her senses and hopped out of bed, running down the stairs and out the door.

Her arm was awkward with it tied up against her body as she was running through the streets, asking people if they had seen a boy with a crutch. Finally someone pointed just down the road and she ran after him. She turned the corner and saw Andrew sitting outside the bakery they had been to earlier that day. He was picking at small piece of bread in his hands, hardly eating it, and feeding it to nearby birds. She walked over and sat down on the curb next to him. She nudged his knee with hers.

"Hey," she said.

"Hiya," he responded. A few moments passed as they watched a bird peck at a piece of bread before devouring it.

"Where'd ya get the bread?" she asked.

"The baker threw it da garbage," he said. "It was just sittin there and I was gonna eat it but I wasn't hungry." They sat for another few minutes.

"That wasn't fun," he finally said.

"Sure wasn't," she agreed. "I didn't mean what I said, about how I'd be fine on my own. Cuz I wouldn't be. I needs ya more than ya think." He nodded.

"I needs ya too," he said. "But I did mean what I said. I ain't just no crip wit a bum leg. I'm more than the crutch. You's neva treated me any different before, so why start now?"

"Cuz before we was at home," she said, ripping off a small piece of his bread. She crushed it into crumbs and threw it at the birds. "Sure, pop beat on us most days, but at least there we was expectin it. We knew it was only pop. But on da streets, it's scarier. I don't know what's goin on or sometimes where we are. It's different out here."

"But it ain't," he said. "I'm still the same person I was in our house. In fact, I's a stronger person cuz we left our house. Now, I gots to stand up for myself, make it on my own."

"Ya not on your own, though," she said adamantly. "Ya got me."

"Yeah but not if ya just gonna treat me likes a flower," he said. "I gots to protect ya. I'm ya big brotha."

"Only by a minute," she mumbled, smiling slightly. "But ya don't gots to protect nobody. I'm a big kid too. I can stand up for myself too, ya know."

"I'll tells ya what," he said, tossing the last of the bread to the birds. "We's gonna protect each otha. Cuz that's all we gots. I watch out for you, you watch out for me. Deal?" Essie smiled, then spit on her hand and extended it. Andrew grimaced in disgust.

"It's what da otha boys do," she explained. He shrugged, then spit on his hand and shook hers.

"Afta all, Crutchie," she said, "We's newsies now."

"Shut up, Dollface," he said, ruffling her hair.


	4. Chapter 4

_Four Years Later_

"Up and at 'em," Kloppman shouted. Dollface groaned, having just been in the middle of a pleasant dream. She had just ordered a very large ham sandwich and was just about to take a bite when Kloppman had so rudely interrupted. She rolled over to her stomach and put her pillow on top of her head and tried to muffle the sound of his voice. Suddenly the pillow was pulled off her head. She peeped open one eye to see Crutchie standing next to her bed, the pillow in his hand.

"Leave me alone," she mumbled, before rolling over. He hit her on the head with the pillow before walking away.

"Five minutes!" he shouted. "Then I'm comin back for ya!" She ignored him and went back to sleep but the five minutes were up almost as soon as she closed her eyes. Crutchie hit her again with the pillow, but she only responded by curling up in her thinning blanket. He grabbed one end the blanket and pulled hard, rolling her off the side of her bed and onto the floor.

"Hey, no fair!" she yelled, rubbing her shoulder. "That's the top bunk, that is!" Crutchie pointed to the window.

"And that's the sun that is!" he shouted, poking her with his crutch. "Hurry up, we's leavin ya in five minutes." She groaned but quickly ran to the bathroom.

After four years, Dollface had quickly gotten used to sharing a room and bathroom with thirty or so boys. She no longer felt any shame in changing in front of them, even after earning womanly curves. And none of the boys called any attention to the fact that they lived with a girl. They treated her like just another boy, and that's the way she wanted it.

Dollface was running with the last few stragglers out the door, slipping her suspenders over her shoulders and pulling a cap over her long hair. If she had had more time, she would have tied her hair in pigtails or braids with some string but she had clearly chosen sleep. Dollface stepped outside and bent down to lace up her worn down boots when she felt a hand smack her bottom. She squealed, jumped up, and saw Jack Kelly laughing at her.

"Hey, Dollface, watch where you keep ya ass," he shouted, running past her to catch up to Racetrack, Mush, and Crutchie.

"Shut up, Cowboy!" she yelled, running after him. "You just watch yourself now." They had both caught up to Mush, Racetrack, and Crutchie and were walking at a leisurely pace.

"Or what," he taunted her.

"Or ya might just find a newt in ya mornin coffee," she said. The other boys laughed as they approached the Sisters and were handed their daily bread and cup of coffee. Over the years, Dollface and Crutchie had grown accustomed to coffe. Crutchie didn't like it so much but Dollface was beginning to rely on the bitter drink. It gave her a new energy to start the day off, and it was never a good day when she got there late and didn't get her coffee. She walked next to her brother as they continued their short walk to get their papers.

"Hey, Dollface, can I ask ya somethin?" he said quietly, making sure that only she could hear it. "Does it look like I'm fakin it?"

"Naw, course not," she said, clapping him the shoulder. "Who told ya that?"

"Aw no one," he said, "It's just there are more and more crips tryin to sell papes and it's gettin hard to tell the difference between the real ones and the fake ones."

"Well fake or not," Mush said, butting into the conversation he had been eavesdropping on, "the gimp still sells more papes than most of us."

"It ain't just the gimp," Crutchie said snappily, "I gots personality too."

"Poisonality, eh?" Mush asked. "What kinds of a poisonality is that?"

"Just a friendly smile to a pretty goil," he said, as a large smile spread across his face.

"Oh does Crutchie here got a goil?" Mush asked. "Guys, hear dat! Crutchie's got a goil!"

"He don't got no goil, just Dollface," Racetrack replied. The guys laughed.

"Yeah, Dollface ain't no goil," Mush said. They all laughed harder.

"Aw shut up," she said, swiping Mush's cap off his head and running off with it. She ran as fast as she could but reached the closed gates of Circulation center. Mush caught up with her a few seconds later, shortly followed by the others with Crutchie bringing up the rear.

"Hey, Jack, think fast," she shouted as Mush approached her. She tossed the cap to him and they proceeded to play keep away until Mush tackled Racetrack and finally won back his cap.

"Oh, mind if we join in," a voice said behind them. Dollface turned around to see the Delanceys on the other side of the gate. Morris was leaning casually up against the bars as Oscar was unlocking it. Morris had a very large smirk on his face.

"Get lost ya scabbas," Dollface said, turning her back to them.

"Hey, we's just tryin to play a little game wit yous guys," Morris said defensively as Oscar opened up the gates.

"What is that unpleasant aroma?" Racetrack asked his friends as he passed the Delanceys.

"I fear the sewers may have backed up overnight," Dollface said in reply. They all laughed watching the Delanceys' reactions.

"Hey yous just betta watch yourselves," Oscar said, standing in front of them and blocking their path.

"Or what, you'll go tattle to Wiesel," Racetrack said.

"Hey, there ain't nothing wrong wit using connections," Oscar said. "Our dear uncle helps us out, gets us a nice job, pays us off to work hard for him."

"If workin hard is bullying kids smalla than you," Dollface said, "Then you's two sure do work hard." Oscar smirked and stepped up to Dollface, too close for her comfort. He stroked a finger on her bare arm slowly.

"Hey, Dollface," he said sweetly, "Hows about you and me go get a drink sometime, huh? And participate in some nice recreational activities aftawards. Or betta yet, we can just skip right to the activities." Before Dollface could do anything, Crutchie had stepped in between the two.

"Hey, step away from my sista, ya piece of scum," he said protectively.

"Hey, don't call my brotha a piece of scum, ya piece of scum," Morris said, grabbing his crutch and pushing him to the ground. Everyone shouted out defensively.

"There's no need for violence, fellas!" Jack said, stepping up. Everyone backed down, knowing that Jack was about to handle the situation. "Besides, it ain't exactly right to fight against someone who ain't your equal." He stooped low and swiftly picked up Crutchie's crutch. Mush bent down and helped Crutchie into a standing position, putting his arm around his shoulders so he had someone to lean on.

"But if you's two is gonna fight against a crip, then might as well make the playing field even," he said before hitting each of their legs hard with the crutch before running off. The Delanceys went down the ground, snatching at the legs of Jack as he ran out of reach. They quickly jumped up and chased after him. Everyone cheered, excited to watch Jack Kelly fight the Delanceys and went running after them. Mush scooped up Crutchie as everyone ran to see the fight.

Jack was running around the street, much faster than the bulky, more muscular Delanceys. Jack was swift but knew that in hand to hand combat, he would lose against the Delanceys. He kept weaving in and out the crowd and confusing the Delanceys and eventually led them back to the gates. He was able to duck behind a couple of large crates and waited for them to come running past them. He stuck a leg out and tripped Morris, who fell over, causing Oscar to trip over him. Everyone laughed as they ran through the gates, passed the Delanceys on the ground. Jack ran over to Crutchie, tossing him his crutch, and they all began to form the line.

Dollface was three people away from Wiesel when she noticed two newcomers. The first boy looked to be their age. He was tall and lean with a mop of dark brown hair. He kept close to the other boy, who was much younger, maybe eight or nine years old. They both wore clothes much nicer than everyone else's and the older boy kept looking around nervously. When he approached the window, he placed down a coin and asked for twenty papers. Wiesel gave it to him and Jack approached the window next. He was just about to receive his papers when the first boy came back to the window.

"Excuse me," he said politely. "But I asked for twenty papers and you only gave me nineteen." If it wasn't obvious before, it was obvious now that this kid was definitely a newbie. Everyone knew not to accuse Wiesel of being wrong.

"You callin me a liar?" Wiesel barked out.

"No, I'm not, I just want all the papers I paid for," the boy said defensively. Jack swept forward and grabbed the papers and began counting them himself.

"And I gave you what you paid for," Wiesel said, turning back to his business.

"But no you didn't, I gave you a dime so-"

"He's right Wiesel," Jack said, stepping forward. "There's nineteen papes here. Ya wanna be caught robbin some kid of his pape?" Wiesel growled and tossed the extra paper to Jack, who turned and handed the stack back to the boy.

"Don't worry bout him," Jack said to the boy. "Everyone knows Wiesel can't count to twenty wit his shoes on." Everyone within earshot laughed, and Jack turned back to Wiesel placing some coins on the counter.

"Get me fifty papes, Wiesel," he said. "And anotha twenty for the new kid." Wiesel slammed the papers on the window as Dollface stepped up and ordered her usual forty papers. As she was putting her papers in her bag, she saw the new boy protesting, saying he couldn't sell forty papers in one day.

"Aw, sure ya can," Dollface said approaching him. "I do it every day. It ain't so hard."

"Yeah, that's cuz you's got two things we's don't," Jack said, pointing to her chest. She shoved him and walked past him, standing off to the side.

"A girl selling papers?" the younger boy said, watching Dollface. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Yup. It's quite dee anomaly, ain't it," she said, making him laugh. But the older boy frowned and put his hand on the kid's shoulder, pulling him away from Dollface.

"Hey, we don't bite," Jack said, seeing this. He extended his hand. "Names Jack Kelly."

"Davey," the kid replied, reluctantly shaking Jack's hand.

"I'm Les," the younger boy said, eagerly extending his hand. Jack smiled and shook his hand. "Davey's my brother."

"How old are ya?" Jack asked. As Dollface stood there, she was slowly joined by Racetrack and Crutchie, who all stood and watched this interaction.

"I'll be ten in a month," he said proudly.

"Well today you's gonna be seven," Jack told him. He then turned to Davey. "Younga sells betta. If you's gonna work wit me, then we's gotta make a deal, ya hear?"

"Hey, I never said anything about-" Davey started to say but was cut off by Les.

"We're going to work with you?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure ya are," Jack declared. "How's about we split today's profits seventy-thirty?"

"Fifty-fifty," Les said sternly. "You can't rip off a little kid." Dollface laughed.

"Sixty-forty, and that's my final offer," Jack said finally.

"Excuse me, but we don't have time for this," Davey interjected. He grabbed Les's hand and started to lead him away but Racetrack jumped in their path.

"Hey, kid, you's walkin away from a mighty fine deal," he said. "Jack here is da best in da business."

"He's can sell any pape," Crutchie said, "No matta what da headline." Davey stopped and looked around at everyone before going back to Jack.

"You sure you can help me sell papers?" he asked. Jack scoffed. "Fine, then deal." He extended his hand but took it back when Jack spit on his hand and went to shake it.

"That's disgusting," Davey said but Les shoved him out of the way and spit on his hand, shaking Jack's. Everyone laughed.

"Alright then," Jack said, surprised at the young boy's leadership. "Let's get goin! See ya later boys!" Everyone waved goodbye to each other as they all went their separate ways, off to spend another day selling papers.

* * *

It had been a long day, with nothing exciting after Jack's fight with the Delanceys and meeting Davey and Les. After an eventless dinner, everyone gathered in a circle once again to see if anyone could beat Dollface at marbles. After four years, no one ever had. Every once and while they made her sit out so other people could actually play a good game. It got boring watching her beat one person after the other. Tonight was one such night as she sat next to Jack, watching Kid Blink and Snitch play.

"So how was the new kids?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"Davey was alright, I spose," he said. "Les was a natural, just like you. He got a real kick out of makin up shit to sell a pape. Davey kept gettin mad at him for lying."

"Why was they sellin papes?" she asked. "They seemed pretty well off to me."

"They fatha was hurt in an accident at work and the family needs money," Jack explained. "They took me to visit their house afta we finished up today."

"What was it like?" she asked excitedly. The only house she'd ever seen was her own from years ago and it wasn't exactly a palace.

"Nice place," he said. "They gots a kitchen and they all sits at it when they eats a meal. And they's each got a bed. Their own bed, imagine that. And there's a fireplace. When we walked in, their motha was heatin up some stew. Imagine that! A motha makin stew…" They both drifted off into a silence, picturing such a perfect life with a bed and a house and a mother and stew.


	5. Chapter 5

If they had been complaining about nothing new and exciting happening, they sure got their wish the next morning. When everyone arrived to buy their papers for the day, they discovered some shocking news.

"They jacked up the price!" Dollface shouted, being the first one to read the chalkboard. "Almost two pennies!" There were many shouts of protest and complaint.

"Naw, that can't be right," Jack said, shaking his head. "Sixty cents to a hundred papes? Dat ain't right, ain't true." But they soon found it to be true as they turned around to see the Delanceys and Wiesel chuckling darkly. They all gathered outside the gates to talk about what to do.

"I can't afford dat price!" Racetrack said.

"Not our fault ya lose all ya money on da horses," Skittery said. Racetrack shoved him.

"Hey, can we focus here?" Mush said, turning to Jack. "So what's we gonna do?"

"I mean, we can't really do anything, can we?" Davey said. "It's not us who controls the prices. We have to sell papers, so we have to buy them."

"What if we don't sell no papes?" Jack asked quietly. No one responded so he repeated it louder.

"What if we don't sell no papes, huh? Pulitzer's gotta sell papes somehow and we sure as hell can't," Jack went on, "Not wit that jack up."

"But surely we can't be the only ones selling papers," Davey said reasonably. "What's it going to matter to Pulitzer if ten boys-"

"Excuse me," Dollface said, raising her eyebrow.

"What does it matter to Pulitzer if ten boys, and one girl," he corrected himself, "Stop selling papers?"

"Yeah, Jack, we ain't dat important," Kid Blink said. "We can't just stop sellin papes for one day and dat suddenly makes him change da price."

"But what if we make him care?" Jack asked. "What if we didn't just stop sellin papes?"

"Watchu mean, Jack!" Boots shouted out.

"What if we do more than just stop sellin for a day?" Jack asked.

"Quit wit da questions and just tell us," Specs said annoyed.

"What if we go on strike?" Jack finally said. Everyone went silent.

"Jack, you feelin ok?" Racetrack said, breaking the silence.

"What if we's go on strike?" he asked. "Eh? Just like dem Trolley Workers. We sell papes about strike, so why can't we do it?" A few people nodded.

"What we has to do is make Pulitzer see us, right, make him see dat we's his hard workers and we is treated like shit," Jack said, getting more passionate. "We's been working in da sun, in da snow, in da rain for too long now. We's tired of it. And we's gonna let him know." Everyone cheered.

"But we're not a union," Davey said. Jack stood up on a crate and looked to the small crowd that had formed around him.

"Hey, who wants to be a union?" he asked them. He received another loud cheer then looked at Davey. "Sounds like a union to me!"

"But you don't realize the kind of work we have to put forth to even-"

"Davey, do you wanna go buy those papes? Those papes that ain't worth nothin?"

"It's only a penny," Davey said. Everyone booed and groaned.

"It's more than just a penny, Dave," Jack said. "It's about how we's been exploited for too long and we can't just sits here and do nothing. It's time we take control, take back our lives!" They cheered again. Davey began to protest again but Jack stopped him.

"If ya fatha was in a union, he mighta been able to strike for betta workin conditions," Jack said. "He might not be hurt right now and you wouldn't be here."

"But I am," Davey said.

"So what's you gonna do? Bend over and take it or stand up like a man?" Jack asked. There was a long pause while everyone waited to see what Davey would say.

"Fine," he said and everyone cheered. "But what are we going to do? We need a plan of some kind."

"Oh but dat's what you's for Davey," Jack said, smiling. "You's da brains behind this little operation."

"Well," Davey said, thinking, "If we're really going to strike, we need more than just twenty boys-"

Dollface cleared her throat.

"And Dollface!" Davey added, "To get Pulitzer's attention, let alone the Wiesel's attention. We need to raise moral and get more people to join us."

"Alright, alright," Jack said, nodding. He hopped down off the crate and walked back into the gates. A few people stayed behind to watch from afar but Davey, Les, Dollface, Crutchie, and Racetrack followed Jack inside. He began by approaching the boys who had just bought papers.

"Hey, boys," he said. "Why ya doin this, huh? We's all know we can't afford dis jack up. Why keep sellin papes?

"I gots to eat somehow," one of the boys said.

"I gots to pay for my family," another said. "My motha's pregnant and we can't afford no docta right now. I ain't lettin her lose anotha baby on account of her not havin a docta there."

"What if I tolds ya that we's gonna get that price back down to what it was yestaday?" Jack asked. "What if I said we don't gots to buy this new price? We don't gots to always obey. We gots minds of our own, don't we? We has to take a stand for ourselves. If we don't, they's always gonna push us down and walk all over us." His voice was growing louder to accommodate a slowly growing crowd.

"We's not always gonna be working for Pulitzer," someone shouted.

"This ain't about Pulitzer," Jack said. "This is about all us kids who has to work our asses off to earn a dolla a day. This is about us showin that we's not scum, we's not just a bunch of dumb kids runnin around. We is livin, breathin peoples!" Some people cheered.

"So put down ya papes!" he shouted to those holding papers. Some of them actually took off their bags and threw them down on the ground. Jack pointed to those still in line. "Yous guys don't have to buy those papes! Just stand wit us! We's gonna show Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, and Mr. William Hearst too! We's gonna prove to them that we's real people! We's got rights and we's not gonna be denied 'em! Now are you wit me or not?" Everyone cheered loudly. Dollface looked around and saw that nearly every boy that had been standing in line joined in with them.

"Pulitzer and Hearst, they tink we're nothin! Are we nothing?" Jack asked.

"NO!" Everyone shouted proudly.

"They tink they got us. Do they got us?"

"NO!"

"_The World_'s gonna know! And _The Journal_ too! They's gonna know that we are here! When dat circulation bell starts ringing, will we hear it?"

"NO!"

"What if da Dalanceys come out swinging, will we fight 'em?"

"NO!"

"Yeah, ain't dat right! We ain't gonna show them that we's scabbas. Cuz we ain't no scabbas. They's the scabbas! Are we gonna back down?"

"NO!"

"We's givin our word, ya hear that Pulitzer? They gave their word too but it ain't worth shit! They's gonna know we've been here!" He shouted, running out into the streets. Everyone followed him, picking up some people outside the gates. Everyone followed Jack as he ran to Mr. Pulitzer's office building. Everyone froze, looking up at the intimidating building. Jack looked up, then spun around, grabbing Dollface and Les.

"They can't say not to a goil and little kid," he said. They pushed through the doors and walked up to the secretary's desk. She looked up, stopped typing, and sat up in her chair.

"May I help you?" she asked in a nasally voice.

"Yeah, we's here to see Mr. Pulitzer," Jack said. "It's of utmost importance, if you please." A minute later they were being thrown out the door and Dollface and Jack landed on the hard ground.

"Hey you tell Pulitzer that if he doesn't see us, he's gonna be asking for an appointment to see me!" he shouted as the guard laughed and slammed the door in their faces.

"Yeah, ya hear that Pulitzer!" Crutchie shouted up at a random window.

"YEAH!" Everyone shouted loudly, angrily. They all continued cheering loudly, despite having just been ignored by the man they were directing their strike at. Crutchie walked over to Jack, who had just been helped up by Davey, and was dusting himself off.

"But Jack, ain't they gonna be mad at us?" he asked sheepishly. "They's gonna take away-"

"Crutchie, they got nothin to take away!" Jack shouted and then turned to the crowd, which was gaining more and more attention from nearby passersby. "They've already taken our childhood! They've taken our innocence! They've taken our health, our money, and now they's taken our lives! We gots to stop before they take our souls! They can't take our hearts away! They can't take away our friends, the loyalty we show to one anudda!" The crowd erupted into more cheers. Crutchie raised his crutch to get the crowd's attention.

"Hey fellas, if we do dis right, we's can be in the papes!" he shouted. "Ain't dat something? We's could be sellin a pape that we's on the front page of! What we do today will be tomorrow's news!"

"But we got to do this right first," Jack said, getting down to business. He turned to Davey, as if to ask for advice.

"Tell them that this won't work if we don't stick together," he said, "that we have to rise up as one, not just a big collection of kids."

"Hey, we gots to stick togetha," Jack shouted. "We's gots to stand up for each other, stay loyal! This ain't gonna work unless Pulitzer and everyone else sees us rise up as one!"

"What do we do to kids who won't joins us?" Skittery asked. Lots of people nodded in agreement.

"We soak 'em!" Racetrack shouted, gaining many cheers, but Davey calmed them down.

"No, no!" he shouted. "We can't do that! That's exactly what they want us to do! We can't turn on each other! We're all going through this together. We're all facing this new price. We're all suffering under the same oppression. We can't fight those that don't comply. We just have to persuade them to see our side."

"Yeah, I'll persuade 'em alright," Swift said, cracking his knuckles.

"No, no fighting," Davey repeated. "We can't go against our own people! As soon as we fight one another, we lose sight of the one person we are fighting: Mr. Pulitzer."

"Yeah, can't you just see him sittin up in his tower," Jack said, "Looking out through his window. He's smoking a cigar and laughin at us playing around and fightin each other. Your friends ain't the enemy, he is! Hearst is! Every adult that ain't ever stuck up for us workin kids is!"

The cheering of the crowd grew louder, drawing the looks of people everywhere. Mothers held back their children from joining in. Businessmen scoffed and walked right by. Chattering groups of women formed and began gossiping. But the best thing of all was the sight of one lone woman, standing off to the side of the crowd, with a notebook in one hand, and a pencil in the other.


	6. Chapter 6

After a few minutes trying to calm down the crowd, Jack finally regained their attention.

"So here's what we gotta do," Jack said. "We gots to spread the word that we's havin a strike here, alright. Get some back up from the other parts of the city. So uh, Boots and Kid Blink yous two take Manhattan. Skittery and Swift, you got Woodside."

"We gots Richmond," Specs and Dutchy shouted.

"I gots the Bronx!" Snitch said. "So does Bumlets."

"Alright, so hows about Snipeshoota and Pie Eater take Flushing," Jack said, pointing to them. "Alright so who wants Brooklyn?" Everyone looked away from Jack, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Aw come on, guys," Jack said. "It ain't dat bad. What, you's guys afraid of a little Brooklyn area?"

"We's not afraid of them!" Racetrack yelled out. "It's mostly Spot Conlon you's got to watch out for." A few people mumbled in agreement.

"Alright fine," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "I'll take Brooklyn with Dollface."

"Hey, no way I'm goin there," Dollface shouted.

"What if we brought Davey, too," Jack said. "He's the brains, ain't he? If anyone can convince Spot Conlon, it'll be Davey."

"But havin Dollface there sure won't hurt," Specs said, earning some laughs. Dollface turned around to face Specs.

"Hey, what's dat supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Aw come on, Doll," Specs said. "Everybody knows Spot's got a ting for ya."

"Then again, don't we all," Mush muttered but Dollface heard him and pulled his cap down over his face before turning back to Jack.

"Alright I'll go," she said. Jack clapped his hands together excitedly.

"What should da rest of us do?" Mush asked.

"Yous fellas can go around and find da otha newsies in our area," Jack said. "Don't fight 'em but tell 'em what's goin on, that we's goin on strike and we's gonna win." Everyone dispersed to go to their respective duties, as Dollface saw Jack pull Mush aside, point to Les, and slip Mush some coins before walking over to meet her.

"What was dat about?" she asked him, gesturing to Mush, who was now walking alongside Les.

"Told him to watch da kid," Jack shrugged. He looked around for Davey, but wasn't able to find him the moving crowd. "Hey, hop on my shoulders, look for Davey." Dollface did as he said, now being able to see above the crowd, and called out his name. He found them a minute later and they were on their way to Brooklyn.

But not before a woman approached them. She was dressed very nicely and had silky brown hair. Her smile was very warm, as were her eyes, but the thing that made Dollface skeptical was the notepad in her hand.

"Hello boys," she said, then noticed Dollface, "And girl. Mind if I ask you a few questions? I work for _The Sun_."

"Sorry, but we ain't takin no questions," Dollface said, moving past her. "Come on, guys. These reportas just gonna mess up everythin."

"No, this is good!" Davey said. "She can help raise awareness! If she gets this in her paper, then everyone will read about it. Heck, Mr. Pulitzer might even read about it." Jack turned around and addressed her.

"What's a pretty goil like you doin writin for the papes?" he asked.

"Yeah, that' ain't no place for a goil," Dollface said.

"And selling papers is?" the woman countered. Dollface raised her eyebrows and then looked at Jack.

"Answer the questions, Cowboy," she said. The woman smiled and extended her hand to each of the three kids.

"I'm Katherine Plumber," she said. "As I said, I'm a reporter for _The Sun_."

"A smart goil, huh?" Jack said, smiling slightly. "An interestin combination, beautiful and smart." Dollface frowned, not liking the way he was looking at the reporter.

"Just ask the questions," Dollface said annoyed. Jack elbowed her and moved between her and the reporter, blocking her out of the conversation.

"What's this about?" she asked Jack. "What's going on?"

"We newsies is responding to the recent jack up of prices," he answered. "Used to be fifty cents per hundred, dats two papes for one penny. But dis mornin, they changed it to sixty cents per hundred and we's all pretty ticked off."

"Who changed the prices?" she asked, writing furiously.

"Dumb bastard Pulitzer," he said with a scoff. "Well I spose it coulda been someone else but seein as he runs just bout everything…"

"What's your plan? What's the first thing on your list?" she asked.

"We's got to gain support from newsies around the city," he said. "As a matta of fact, we's on our way to Brooklyn right now to talk to some of our pals in dat area. We's got to come togetha to get Pulitzer and the other hot shots to even look at us."

"What are your demands?" she asked. Jack slipped out of his confident demeanor for just a moment as he glanced to Davey for an answer.

"We're hoping to return to the original price of fifty cents per one hundred papers," he answered for Jack. "Depending on the success of our strike, we may decide on other demands but right now that is our main focus." She finished writing down and looked up to the boys, smiling.

"I think that's all I need for now," she said, closing up her notebook. "Thank you, boys. Can I have your names so I can list them in the article?" Davey began to tell her when Jack grabbed his arm, signaling to stop talking.

"Sorry," he said, "We can't give you our names seein as some of us may or may not be in trouble with some law enforcements."

"Law enforcement?" she repeated.

"Specifically one Mr. Snyder of the children's refuge," Jack elaborated. "Best if you don't use our names in the pape."

"Surely you could give me a nickname of some kind," she said. "I heard the girl call you 'Cowboy'? Is that alright for you?" Jack beamed and nodded his head.

"And hows about Goliath for my pal David here," he said, putting an arm around his shoulder. Katherine Plumber smiled and wrote down the two names.

"Thanks again, boys," she said, walking away. "Best of luck to you!" Jack watched her walk away, a broad smile on his face, and the strange feeling returned in Dollface.

"Let's go, alright," she finally said, grabbing Davey and Jack's arms and pulling them away. "We already wasted time with that hussy."

"Shut up, Dollface," Jack said defensively. "I thought she seemed nice."

"Yeah, I got that," Dollface said with a roll of her eyes.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Jack said, "But is you jealous of Miss Katherine Plumber? Got a little crush on me, Dollface?"

"Hell no!" she said truthfully. "She just don't sit right wit me I guess. Now let's get goin."

"Eager to see ya boyfriend, Conlon, aren't ya?" Jack said and swung out of the way of Dollface's slap.

After an hour and half of walking, they came to the docks where Spot Conlon was known to hang out with his gang. It was turning into a hot day and the three of them were already sweating enough. But it was pure torture when they saw Spot and his gang swimming around in the water. It looked absolutely refreshing but they were there on business. Jack stopped, just before walking onto the dock, and turned to Davey.

"You let me do all the talkin," Jack said. "I'll let ya know when to say somthin, alright?'

"Why's everyone afraid of one kid?" Davey asked.

"Spot's… of the crafty type," Dollface put delicately. "When you's raised in Brooklyn, you don't take no shit from anyone."

"Well great, he should be glad to join our strike," Davey said.

"Yeah but when you's from Brooklyn, you also don't take no direction from someone else," Dollface continued. "They's stubborn people."

"Says you," Jack laughed, continuing their walk to the end of the dock. The shouts and laughter of Spot's gang slowly died down as they watched Jack, Dollface, and Davey walk past them to the end of the dock. They came to the edge and saw Spot swimming in the water.

"Well, well, well," Spot said, looking up at the three of them. "Look what we's gots here, boys!"

"Looks like a coupla scabbas, if ya ask me," a boy said from behind them.

"Alright, Spot," Jack said, looking down at him. "We gots to talk to ya about somethin, somethin real important."

"All this on my day off," Spot groaned, swimming over to a ladder and climbing out of the water. It was then that they saw he had been swimming naked. Dollface put a hand up to shield her eyes.

"Come on, Conlon, put some pants on," Dollface said. He chuckled but did so anyway.

"Well I wasn't expecting no goils to be comin round here," he said. "Then again, you hardly count don't ya, Dollface?"

"We's not here to arrange a date betwixt yous two, Spot," Jack said, getting his attention. "We's got a problem."

"I know," Spot said, pulling his suspenders over his bare shoulders. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a slingshot. "Word is there's a jack up on the prices of papes."

"Sure is," Jack said. "Sixty cents per hundred."

"Well what's da problem?" Spot asked, bending over and picking up a small pebble off the ground.

"We's not all rich like you," Dollface said. "We can't afford it no mores."

"Everyone's pretty angry, Spot," Jack said. Spot shrugged, pulling back the sling shot and taking aim at a glass bottle twenty or so feet away.

"The world's an angry place," he said, letting go. The pebble went flying, smashing into the bottle and shattering it. Jack was growing impatient and grabbed the sling shot out of Spot's hands to get his attention.

"We's startin a strike," Jack said. "We's decided to rise up and show Pulitzer and Hearst and all those otha big shots that they ain't gonna take advantage of us no mores. We's takin a stand."

"Well good for you," Spot said, patting Jack's face and taking the sling shot back. Jack looked at Davey, giving him the cue to start talking.

"Look, aren't you tired of being oppressed?" Davey asked him.

"Oppressed? I ain't oppressed. I gots no responsibility 'cept my own," Spot said, picking up another pebble. "I don't gots to take care of nobody but me. I sell some papes in the mornin, buy a seltzer if I wants to, come here, swim wit me buddies, shoot some…" He pulled the sling shot back again and shattered another bottle.

"You callin that oppressed?" Spot asked, turning to Davey.

"But if you rise up with us, we can improve our lives so much more," Davey said.

"Our lives?" Spot repeated. "Our? Look, I don't judge based on looks-" Dollface snorted and Spot turned to her.

"What? What's so funny?" he asked her.

"Alls you do is judge," she said. "That's all you Brooklyn's do. Ya wouldn't stop mocking me for the first month afta we met and I had to wrestle ya and throw ya in the water before you'd accept that I wasn't no goily goil."

"Well tell me how the newsboys goin on strike is gonna help da life of this kid here," Spot said. "He looks like Pulitzer himself, just anudda big shot. You lives a comfortable life, I'm guessin." He turned back to Davey.

"Nice house, wit a mudda and a fatha. I bet you gots a fire in the fireplace every night, huh? A nice big bed wit blankets and a pillow? And clean clothes everyday. Why is some first class prick like you startin a strike for da boys that sell you your pape every mornin?"

"Because it's not about me," Davey said. "And this isn't about Dollface or you or Jack. It's about the people exploiting children and forcing them to do their work for them. It's about those kids shining shoes everyday who aren't wearing shoes themselves. It's for those kids working from sun up to sun down in sweat shops. It's for those kids working in factories without a ten minute break for lunch while their boss is having a five course meal in his office. It's not about us; it's about everyone." Spot didn't respond but walked away, looking for another pebble. He found one, silently picked it up, and shot at the remaining bottle.

"I don't believe it," Dollface said. "The amazin Spot Conlon is speechless." Suddenly, Spot swiftly picked up another pebble, pulled back the sling shot, and shot it at Dollface. The pebble struck her just next to her right eye. She yelled out and covered her eye with her hand.

"What the hell was that for, Conlon?" she shouted.

"Nobody comes in on my turf and gives me some speech about why I should help some dumb strike," he said, striding up to Davey. "Nobody comes in and tells me I should give up my comfortable life for a strike that ain't even gonna work." He turned to Dollface.

"Nobody insults Spot Conlon," he said, pointing to her.

"Conlon, you stupid bastard," Jack shouted in his face. "Why can't ya do somethin good for once in ya life? Hell, if ya won't do it for me or Dollface or those little kids workin day in and day out, do it for you. Do it so yous can have more money to spend on a sandwich. Do it so yous don't have to spend the nights in no alley. Do it so yous can buy a pair a shoes that don't have no holes in the bottom."

"Get off my docks," he said, swiftly turning around. "Get out of my sight!" Davey started to protest but Jack grabbed his shoulder, shaking his head. Dollface and Davey turned around and started walking away while Jack remained in the same place.

"Conlon, just think about it," he said. "You knows where we live." He turned around, joining the others, and they all began their walk back home.

* * *

**So this chapter was a little on the shorter side but I had to chop up a lot of chapters into smaller ones because when I originally wrote this chapter, it was a combination of the previous chapter, this chapter, and half of the next chapter. And yay! introduction of new characters! Also, while writing this, I kinda realized I'm doing a weird combination of the movie and the musical cuz there's stuff I love from both. So tell me in the comments or review it or whatever the term is (new to !) and let me know what you think!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright so what'd we come up with fellas," Jack asked as everyone assembled at Tibby's that night.

"Well Woodside says they's all in," Kid Blink reported, "So long as Brooklyn's in too."

"Yeah, Richmond said the same ting," Specs said, sipping his water.

"Yeah, Flushing too," Snipeshoota said, leaning back in his seat.

"Hey what about da Bronx?" Jack asked Bumlets.

"Bronx says they ain't afraid of nothin," Bumlets responded proudly. Everyone cheered.

"So long as Spot Conlon's not on da otha team," Snitch finished. "They's not gonna fight without him." There were several groans of annoyance and disappointment.

"So basically we can't do nothin without Spot," Mush said. Jack nodded, sitting down, and sipping his seltzer.

"What'd he say when yous guys went down there?" Racetrack asked.

"He said he wasn't gonna disrupt his already comfortable life to help a buncha random kids he ain't ever met," Jack said. "I don't think he's gonna come around."

"Well, I know one thing that could make him come around," Snipeshooter said quietly. Everyone looked at Dollface.

"Alright, let's drop this now," she said. "I was there with Jack and Davey when we was talkin to Spot and he gave me dis black eye. I had no effect on him at all."

"Probly cuz you caught him naked," Jack said pointedly. Dollface hit her head on the table as the room erupted in catcalls and laughs.

"Shut up, would ya!" she finally yelled when they didn't calm down. "Dere's nothin between Spot Conlon and me! I don't know where's you all made dat up but just cuz I'm da only goil newsie don't mean dat he likes me. He's made it pretty clear I'm just anotha guy. Now can we please stop talkin bout this and focus on the issue at hand?"

"Well, Dollface, I hate to tell ya," Jack started saying carefully, "But I think the way to solve the Brooklyn issue is for you to go down there and meet with Spot alone. Whether you admit it or not, he has some kinda ting for ya." As she began to protest again, Jack held up a hand.

"Hey, I call it like I see it," he shrugged. "Just do it for us, would ya?"

"Fine," she said with a heavy sigh. "But I'm tellin you, I got no effect on Conlon."

"Good," Crutchie said, taking the seat next to her. "You betta not have an effect on him or I'll kill him."

"Hey, uh, Jack?" Specs said, looking out the window. "I think we's got company." Jack ran over to the window and looked outside. He saw several policeman walking determinedly towards Tibby's. Snyder was among them.

"Oh shit," Jack said, stepping away from the window. "Ok, half of ya go out the back, the otha half make a run for it! It's Snyda and his gang." There was a scramble of chairs as everyone went running in different directions. Dollface got separated from Crutchie in the scramble to leave and stood in the restaurant shouting his name. Jack had to force her to run when the room had cleared and Crutchie clearly had gotten out.

"Come on!" he said impatiently. "Snyder's on our tail!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her along to the front door of Tibby's. They paused momentarily, watching one or two policemen run after a few boys but for the most part there were too many running away in too many directions for them to be caught.

"Alright, let's go now," he said. "Don't go to the boarding house, run to the alley behind da bakery, alright. See ya there." They both ran out the door at full sprint. Dollface was just behind Jack when they ran through the crowd of policemen. Jack was nimble and navigated around them but a foot stretched out and tripped Dollface.

She landed on the hard pavement, scraping up her arms and banging her knees painfully on the ground. She felt rough hands grab her arms and pick her up. It was Synder himself. He was staring darkly at her, an evil smirk on his face, and his black eyes lighting up.

"Well, well, well," he said. "Finally caught one, boys! And it's one of the many runaways I've been lookin for! What's ya name again? Boyer, something like that?"

"Don't know what ya talkin about," Dollface lied. "Never heard dat name before." Snyder kneed her in the stomach and she doubled over as much as possible with him still maintaining a firm grip on her arms.

"Don't lie to me, Boyer," he snarled. "I know you and your brother was here tonight. You're planning something, and it's up to us to stop it, ya see?" He threw her to another policeman. He grabbed her, holding her arms behind her back.

"Now tell me what's goin on?" he asked, baring his knuckles.

"You can read about it in da papes tomorrow," Dollface said, with a slight smile. Snyder punched her hard in the stomach. She bit her lip, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of screaming.

"No, really," she said, catching her breath. "We got an interview with some reporter today. She asked us lots of questions. Cowboy answered them all."

"Cowboy?" he repeated. "You mean, Kelly? Kelly's with you. He's planning this?" Dollface panicked, realizing what information she let slip. She knew Snyder was after Jack, just like he was after her. But now Snyder knew Jack was the leader.

"Kelly? What Kelly?" she lied quickly, trying to cover her slip up. This earned her another punch in the stomach. She grunted painfully but still did not cry out.

"Now, I don't wanna hit a girl," Snyder said. "So why don't you just tell me the truth. Is Jack Kelly leading this dumb game of yours?"

"It ain't no game," Dollface said through gritted teeth. "But if it was, we'd win." Snyder punched her once, twice, three times in the stomach before kneeing her and grabbing her shirt, pulling her up to his face. She was panting hard, trying not show pain, and struggling against the policeman holding her back. She wanted nothing more than to punch Snyder in the face.

"I told you I didn't want to hit a girl," he said.

"I ain't no goil. I'm a newsie," she said proudly, earning her a knee in the stomach again. She couldn't hold back the cry of pain this time and felt sick when she heard Snyder's cruel laugh.

"That's my girl," he said. "Now, one last time. Where is Jack Kelly?"

"Right here, ya bastard," a familiar voice shouted. Dollface whipped her head around, looking around furiously for Jack, and found him at the corner of the street he had run down five minutes ago.

"Kelly!" Snyder yelled, as he too saw Jack and let go of Dollface's shirt. "I'll get your ass!"

Jack reacted quickly, pulling back the sling shot in his hand, taking aim, and firing. It hit Synder in the head and he yelled out in pain, clutching the spot on his large forehead where he was hit. A second later the man holding Dollface was hit too and he loosened his grip on her for just a second but just long enough for her to break away.

"Run!" Jack shouted at her. But he didn't need him to tell her that. It was painful running that fast with busted up knees and a beaten stomach and ribcage but she pushed through until she reached Jack.

"Thanks, Cowboy," she said as they both bolted to the alley behind the bakery. When they didn't hear any steps behind them, they slowed down slightly and eventually reached the safety of the closed off alley. Jack came to a stop, leaning down on his knees to catch his breath. Dollface collapsed on the ground, tired from sprinting and from her encounter with Snyder. She clutched her stomach in pain, trying to slow down her breathing.

"Dammit, that was close," Dollface said a minute later, having finally caught her breath.

"That wasn't close," Jack said. "They got you. They was beatin you, Dollface."

"I'm fine," she said. "It was nothin. Well, nothin compared to what I did."

"What?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"I kinda let it slip that you's the one runnin the strike," she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Jack, I didn't mean to. Like I said it just slipped out but now Snyda's just gonna be on ya tail the whole time we's-" Jack knelt on the ground and did something Dollface had never seen him do before. He hugged her.

"Stop yappin about how Snyda knows I'm the leader," he said in her ear. "I'm just glad I got you away in one piece." He pulled away and laughed slightly as he looked at the confused expression on Dollface's face.

"Believe it or not, I do know how to hug," he said. "Just don't go tellin the othas. It'd ruin my reputation."

"Jack, I'm sorry," Dollface continued, looking down.

"It ain't nothin," Jack brushed off. "They woulda figured out I was leadin it anyway. Now let's get home. Crutchie's gonna murder me for what happened to ya." He put her arm around his shoulder and helped her to stand up.

"Does it hurt to walk? Just lean on me, alright," he said as they began their journey to the boarding house. Dollface winced with every step but didn't let Jack know how much it was hurting her.

"God, why am I such a idiot," she said in the middle of a silence.

"What do ya mean?"

"I get shot in the eye by Spot Conlon. Then I can't keep up wit you and get tripped up by Snyda," she said. "My arms is bleedin, my knees gots bruises the size of oranges, and it feels like every one of my ribs is broken. Not a good day, huh?" The corners of Jack's mouth turned up slightly but the returned to a frown.

"I just shoulda looked behind me sooner," he said. "I assumed you was right behind me, cuz you always is, and then I got to the alley and you didn't come. And I got worried. You wouldn't a just left, we agreed on that spot. It took me at least five minutes to go lookin for ya and anotha ten to find ya."

"Calm down," she said. "I couldn't a been wit Snyda and his men for more than five minutes. Besides, he only threw a few punches. Not enough to knock me over." They reached the boarding house and stopped just before entering.

"Crutchie's gonna kill me," they both said at the same time. They looked at each other, then laughed, and took a deep breath as they walked through the doors. They were immediately surrounded by everyone who had escaped Tibby's. They were all talking at once, asking different questions.

"What took you so long?"

"Where'd ya go?"

"What's wrong with you, Dollface?"

"How'd Synda track us down?"

"What's gonna happen?"

"Hey, HEY!" Jack shouted, to get them to shut up. "Thank you! Jesus, we's fine. Just go upstairs and we'll talk, alright?" Everyone began to rush up the stairs as Crutchie made his way to Jack and Dollface.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked. His face changed to one of horror when he was finally able to see Dollface up close.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "And don't say nothin, I can see it in your eyes."

"Snyda," Jack said simply and began walking to the stairs but Crutchie cut them off.

"Would ya stop and just talk to me?" he asked. "What the hell happened?"

"Snyda tripped me up," Dollface explained. "He started beatin me to try to get information."

"Yeah, and he didn't get nothin out of her," Jack said proudly. "Ya sista's a strong goil, Crutchie."

"I knows that," he said defensively. "Why didn't ya follow me out of Tibby's?"

"I tried to but you got lost in the crowd," she said. "I really did try, Crutch."

"I had to practically drag her outta there," Jack said. "She wasn't leavin without you but you'd already left."

"Can we stop chattin and get up there?" Dollface asked. "They's waitin for us." She let go of Jack and became determined to make it up the stairs without their help. Every step caused her pain but she pushed through and made it to their room. When the three of them entered the room, everyone turned around and began asking rapid fire questions again. Jack walked up to them and started calming them down while Crutchie pulled Dollface aside.

"Now don't you say you ain't hurtin, cuz you is," he said. "I see it. And it's my fault, I neva shoulda left your side."

"I ain't no a little goil," she said. "Besides, we got separated. It ain't nobodys fault. Thank god Jack came back to help me out though. Snyder was just about to pound me to death."

"What do ya mean Jack came back?" Crutchie asked confused. "Wasn't he there with ya? Didn't Snyda get him too?"

"No, just me. Jack was runnin ahead of me when they tripped me," she said. "He didn't even know I wasn't following him til he stopped runnin bout two blocks away."

"He just left you there with them," Crutchie said, his face growing red with anger. "He just abandoned you and left you to fend for yaself?"

"Now don't you go gettin all mad at Jack," Dollface said. "He saved my ass."

"Yeah, but he also left it," Crutchie said, turning to look at Jack, who was answering all the boys questions.

"No he didn't," Dollface said, grabbing face and turning him back to face her. "He didn't just abandon me. He had no clue what was goin on." Crutchie looked down.

"I just… I shoulda been there," he said. "I left through the back door and assumed you'd be right there but you weren't. And I just came back here. I shoulda gone lookin for you, then maybe you wouldn't a been beat so bad."

"Crutchie, it ain't-"

"Yeah it is," he said, cutting her off. "We promised we'd protect each otha and I haven't been doin my job as ya big brotha."

"You's only my big brotha by a minute," she muttered.

"First Conlon shoots ya wit his sling shot, now Snyda's on your ass," he said. "I'm gonna be there next time. I promise." She smiled as he kissed her forehead, something he hadn't done since leaving their father.

"Now go lie down," he said. "Get some sleep. Don't worry, I'll tell everyone to shut up." Dollface saw no use in arguing so she climbed into bed, kicking her shoes off, and laid her head on her pillow. She closed her eyes and listened as Jack's voice lulled her off to sleep.

"Snyda ain't gonna stop us," he said determinedly. "Neitha is them police or the papes or the Delancey's. We's a union, right? Ain't nothing gonna stop us."

* * *

**I'm probably just going to update one chapter every few days or so now, no more of this three chapters at a time because I'm gonna run out of stuff to upload. And we got some action in this chapter! Wooo! I'm probably going to end up changing the rating from T to M because it gets more violent later on. Hope you guys liked this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Dollface woke up on her own. She rolled over on her side and groaned, feeling the pain in her ribcage. She opened her eyes slightly and saw the bed next to her was empty. She looked out the window and saw the sun was already up. She bolted up, wincing as pain shot through her left side. She looked around and saw the room was empty.

"Shit," she mumbled, jumping down and shoving her feet in her shoes. She ran down the stairs, pulling her suspenders on as she went, and ran past Kloppman.

"Hey, Kloppman, what time is it?" she asked hurriedly. "I overslept. Why didn't nobody wake me?" She didn't wait for an answer and continued to run towards the door. Kloppman grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside.

"Whoa, slow down there," he said. "Jack told me not to wake you this morning and to let you rest. He said you ran into Snyder yesterday."

"What! That's stupid," she groaned, turning to go but Kloppman didn't let go of her arm.

"I'm fine, now let me go," she said. "I gots to go and help da strike!"

"Would you sit still for a minute?" he asked. "Look, after you fell asleep, Jack told everyone what happened to you. I came in late last night and walked in on him describing it all. From what he said, Snyder was brutal to you. They all voted and said this strike is getting too serious and it's too rough for a girl."

"Those bastards!" she yelled, yanking her arm out of Kloppman's grip. "Forget it, I'm a part of this strike as much as the next guy! I'm goin afta them!" She didn't wait for him to respond and ran out the door towards the circulation center. When she arrived, she saw everyone sitting around, looking lethargic and dejected. She saw Jack sitting off to the side of everyone, leaning up against a wall. She ran right towards him.

"What's this about?" she yelled angrily, tearing him away from his thoughts. He looked up at her and opened his mouth to explain himself. "Shut it, I don't wanna hear it. How dare you vote against me? You gots no right to tell me what I can and can't do."

"Dollface, listen to reason," Jack said, standing up. "No matta what you says, this is gettin rough and we don't wants you to get hurt."

"I already have been hurt, Jack!" she shouted, drawing attention. A few people walked over to see what was going on. "I've had my arm broke, my ankle twisted, and too many black eyes to count! I was beatin last night, so what. It's no different than when my pop did it as a kid. 'Cept this time, I can stand up for myself."

"Dollface, enough," Racetrack said. "We voted and you ain't supposed to be anywhere near this. Kloppman was supposed to keep ya in the house today."

"Yeah well I ran off," she said. "You can't vote on my life. If you do, you's no betta than Pulitzer! You's takin away my rights just like he's takin away ours."

"She's got ya there fellas," Boots said.

"Alright fine," Jack said. "We's just worried is all. You do have a knack for gettin yourself into some nasty predicaments."

"Yeah, well I'll be more careful next time," she said, looking around. "Where's Crutchie? And Mush and Kid Blink? In fact, where's everyone?" She looked around, noticing that it was only Boots, Racetrack, Skittery, Romeo, and Specs.

"They's out tryin to get some of the newsies from around here to show up this mornin," Jack explained.

"Now what the hell is goin on?" she asked.

"I was just about to ask the same question." Everyone turned around to see Katherine Plumber approaching them. She had her notebook and pencil in hand again. Jack immediately stood up, pushing Dollface out of the way, and walked right up to her.

"Well we's waitin for the otha newsies," Jack said, turning on the same charm he used to sell papers. The familiar annoyance stirred in Dollface as she watched Jack chat up Katherine.

"Why haven't they shown up?" she asked.

"We's not too sure," Jack said shrugging. "Problem is most of 'em said they wasn't gonna do anythin til our pals in Brooklyn stepped up."

"Speaking of pals, where's your buddy? Goliath, you told me to call him," she said. Jack scratched the back of his neck.

"We's not sure either," he said, a little more unsure of himself. "But wherever he is, we knows he's doin somethin for the cause."

"It's just important for everyone to be here," Dollface said, stepping into the conversation. "Ya know, show that we's all standin togetha."

"Tell me, what is it like being a girl during this strike?" Katherine asked. Dollface was prepared to answer but Jack stepped in front of her, pushing her out of the way.

"Aw, don't ask her that," he said. "She'll go on foreva about how she's no different than the rest of us. Now tell me, when exactly are you printin dis article?"

"As soon as my editor deems it fit," she said, closing her notebook.

"Wait a minute, your editor hasn't even said you could write dis article?" Jack asked. "You don't know if it's actually goin in the pape or not?"

"I don't normally write news stories," she said, sheepishly.

"You's a news reporter!" Jack shouted with a laugh.

"Well it's a little hard to convince my editor that I can write more than silly little reviews for plays," she said defensively.

"Well how many articles exactly _have_ you written?" he asked, no longer showing off his charm.

"How many strikes have you lead?" she countered. Several of the boys laughed.

"Seems like the mighty Jack Kelly has met his match," Racetrack said.

"Jack Kelly," she said, twiddling her pencil in between her fingers. "Sounds too heroic for you."

"Katherine Plumber," Jack said, crossing his arms. "Don't sound stuck up enough to be your name." She tilted her chin up indignantly, turning on her heel.

"Come looking for me when you know what you're doing, Kelly," she said, walking away. Everyone watched her walk away before turning to Jack.

"Geez, Jack, I ain't seen you like that before," Specs said.

"Only times I seen you get beat at a conversation is when ya talkin to Dollface," Skittery said.

"Ain't she a bitch," Romeo said.

"Ain't she pretty though, right?" Boots asked around, earning nods from everyone.

"Sorry we're late," they heard a voice call out. They turned around and saw Les running towards the group, with Davey slightly behind them.

"Our mom made us wash dishes before we left," he explained.

"Oh I forgots they had a motha," Racetrack said.

"We have a father too," Davey said, walking up behind Les. "What's happened? What'd we miss?"

"You just missed Jack gettin his ass whooped by dat reporter," Boots said.

"Miss Plumber?" Davey asked. Jack nodded. "What'd she ask? What'd you say?"

"She just asked a shitload of nothin," Jack said, annoyed. "The point is it's seven o'clock, the Delanceys haven't opened da gates yet, and no one's comin to join us."

"Hey maybe we should just give up," Skittery said. "Go home and come back tomorrow."

"No, we can't do that," Davey said, walking over to Jack. "Tell them that if we back down now, they will never take us seriously."

"I can't do this right now," Jack said, walking off. "You talk to them." He walked a few feet away, leaning up against a wall with his back to the group.

"Davey, we just can't do this," Romeo said. "It's too much work for just a few kids."

"That's why we have to stand together," Davey said. "We have to show up every day and let them see that we're not backing down. We just have to take it one step at a time. Just take it bit by bit, that's how we'll win this." No one looked like they believed what he was saying. Davey went up to Specs.

"My father would tell me every day when I was younger 'seize the day,'" Davey told him. "It means to make good use of the day. Do everything you mean to do because you never know when you'll get another chance. Seize the day!" Just then Mush, Snipeshooter, Bumlets, and Kid Blink came running over excitedly, followed by a very excited Crutchie. Jack turned around and walked over to see what they had to say.

"We talked to some fellas who said they'd join us afta they finished eatin," Mush reported. "And more kids said they'd show up tomorrow."

"Hey, look what I made!" Crutchie said. He held up his crutch proudly in the air. He head attatched an old ripped up piece of fabric to it and written "STRIKE" on it with a piece of charcoal. He growled ferociously as he thrust it into the air.

"This is the kind of spirit we have to show," Davey said, turning to Skittery and Romeo. "Courage doesn't erase our fears; courage is when we _face_ our fears. We're going to tell all those men up in their towers that we're done obeying them." Davey's words must have cheered up Jack, as he walked over to join Davey, putting his arm around his shoulder.

"We may be few in numbas," he said, "But we's too proud to hide. We's gonna let them know that we's here and we ain't goin nowhere." He pulled in Racetrack with his other arm as Davey pulled in Les. Soon everyone had their arms around each other and was huddled in a circle.

"No matta what happens," Jack said, looking at everyone. "You's still our brothers and we will fight for you." Just then the Delanceys opened the gates, laughing at the boys huddled together.

"Let's show 'em whose boss," Jack said, standing up straight and looking at the Delanceys, "Cuz the strike starts striking NOW!" Jack ran through the gates as everyone followed him but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw five or six boys in line to buy papers.

"Hiya boys," Jack said, walking towards them with a confident air. "What's goin on here?"

"We's buyin our papes, Jack," one of them said. "Now leave us alone."

"Yeah well I can't leave you's alone," he said. "See cuz we gots to stick togetha. So you's either with us or you's with them." Jack pointed to the Delanceys, who were leaning arrogantly up against a wall, laughing at everything, and to Wiesel, who wore a condescending smirk on his face. The boy looked to them and back to Jack before ripping off his newsie bag and throwing it at the Delanceys.

"I'm wit you," he said, walking over to join the cheering group. Jack turned to the other boys.

"Now who's gonna be smart and follow dat kid, huh?" he asked them. One boy took off his bag too and joined the others. The rest looked on skeptically at Jack.

"How do you knows we gonna win?" one asked. "How do you know we ain't gonna get arrested or nothin?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted sheepishly. Davey stepped up and took over.

"But isn't this worth the risk?" Davey asked. "Isn't it worth it to fight and overcome obstacles if it means we could improve our futures? We could win, we could lose, but we won't know unless we try, unless we…" He trailed off, struggling to find the words.

"Seize the day!" yelled out Dollface. Davey smiled.

"We have to do what we think is right," he continued. "Do you think it's right to rob kids of their small amount of money? Do you think it's right to force them to work day and night for hardly any money at all?"

"Course it ain't but-"

"Do you think it's right to stand up for what you believe in?" Davey continued. "Do you think it's right to fight against oppression?" Another boy took off his bag and threw it at the Delanceys and joined the cheering group. There were only two boys left to convince.

"We have to act now," Davey said. "Otherwise nothing will get better. Things will just get worse." As one of the boys began to take off his bag, the other grabbed his friend's arm.

"Come on Trip, don't do this," he said but his friend took the bag off anyway.

"At the end of the day, who ya gonna trust them," he said pointing to Wiesel and the Delanceys, "Or them?" He pointed to the newsies as he joined their group. The remaining boy stood alone and looked conflicted about what to do. At last he took the bag off and threw it on the ground.

"What the hell," he said, joining the boys. Everyone cheered, welcoming the newcomers.

"Mr. Pulitzer's not gonna like this boys," Wiesel shouted.

"Well he's just gonna have to get over it," Jack said, picking up a newspaper. He crumpled it and threw it in Wiesel's face. He then turned to the boys and thrust his fist in the air. "Strike! Strike!"

"STRIKE! STRIKE!" the crowd chanting, getting riled up. "STRIKE! STRIKE!" They began running around and ripping up all the papers they could get their hands on.

"Ya like this Mr. Pulizter!" Crutchie shouted at no one in particular. They tipped over carts and dumped out crates. Soon papers were flying everywhere. Wiesel and the Delancey's had hid in the office with the doors and windows closed. Wiesel cracked open the door a tiny bit but just as he did someone threw an old tomato they found at him and he closed the door immediately.

"Hey fellas what are we missin!" they heard someone shout. Dollface turned around and saw some boys she had never seen before walking through the gates. They must have been the other newsies Crutchie and the others had talked to that morning because they joined in on the antics at once, ripping up papers and throwing them in the air.

"Boys, turn here!" Katherine Plumber shouted. She had snuck into the strike and had a man set up a camera. As the boys turned around and posed quickly, the man pressed the button and a blinding flash went off. Katherine smiled and began to pack up her things as they all cheered.

Things were clearly going too well because all of a sudden, they became aware of a group approaching them. Wiesel must have called in back up because a large group of fifteen or twenty thugs led by the Delanceys emerged from behind the office. They closed in on the newsies, who had all backed up and reformed their group. The atmosphere was no longer one of excitement; there was panic in the air.

Everyone looked at Jack, who looked at a loss for what to do but he took a breath and yelled, "CHARGE!"

He ran at the group of thugs, as did everyone else, and all hell broke loose. They were clearly outnumbered, both in strength and numbers. They soon realized how much trouble they were in as a large fight began to break out. Punches were being thrown everywhere, here and there a few kicks. Then they heard a whistle blow and everyone froze momentarily to see its source. It was the police.

"Aw finally," Racetrack said, running over to the man who blew the whistle. "We's getting slaughtered here-" Racetrack was cut off by a clean slap across the face, as the policeman shoved him out of the way and began walking towards the main source of chaos. It was clear they were not there to help the boys.

"Run!" Jack shouted, trying to signal to everyone to get out and escape being caught. Things were going from bad to worse rapidly. Everyone began to scatter, still fighting off the scabbers but Jack was relieved as he saw some boys begin to escape past the police. Dollface was just about to clear most of the chaos when an arm grabbed her waist from behind. It was Oscar Delancey.

"Hey, now calm down," he said, wrapping his other arm up across her chest, grabbing her breast. She struggle to get away but he just picked her up and started carrying her away. "It's gonna be alright, ya little brat. Just a few minutes wit me and then you's can go."

"Crutchie! Jack!" Dollface screamed out. "Crutchie!" And then there was Crutchie by her side, staring angrily at Oscar.

"No one touches my sista," he yelled, punching him in the face. Oscar let go of Dollface and staggered backwards. Dollface grabbed Crutchie's hand and started leading him towards the gates. They were almost there too when Morris came out of nowhere and punched Crutchie in the face.

"Hey, you betta show us some respect, ya no good crip," he said, kicking Crutchie's bad leg. Crutchie fell down in a crumpled heap as his crutch went flying out of his grasp.

"No!" Dollface said, running to help Crutchie. But another arm grabbed her, pulling her away. It was Jack's.

"Dollface, run!" he shouted, pulling her back. She watched in horror as both Delanceys closed in on Crutchie. He was lying on the ground with a look of absolute terror on his face. "I'll handle this! I'll get him!"

"No!" she said, breaking free of Jack momentarily. Suddenly, Snyder came striding up to Crutchie and Dollface froze in place. Jack grabbed her again, pulling her away and hiding themselves behind a tipped over cart.

"Thank you boys," Snyder said to the Delanceys, tossing them a coin. He then grabbed Crutchie's crutch and raised it above Crutchie's crumpled body. Jack grabbed Dollface and spun her around, holding her close to him so she wouldn't have to watch. But she heard. She heard her brother's cries as the crutch hit his body three times. She looked up when she heard the crutch hit the ground.

"Off to the refuge for you, little man," Snyder said ferociously, grabbing Crutchie's arms and handcuffing him. "Take him boys." Morris came back and grabbed Crutchie's bad leg, dragging him off, behind the office to the back gates. Dollface ran out, with Jack right behind her. He grabbed her arms to hold her back. It was then that Crutchie saw them and reached out his arm for them.

"Jack! JACK!" he screamed, the most horrific sound they had ever heard. Dollface ran after him but Jack was too quick. He grabbed her and had to carry her out as she screamed after her brother, who had disappeared behind the office.

"CRUTCHIE! NO! CRUTCHIE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, as tears began rolling down her face. She tried fighting against Jack but he continued to carry her away. He put her down on the ground once they had cleared the gates.

"Run, go, I'll go after him," he said. "I'll go-"

"Kelly!" Snyder's voice rang out. They spun around and saw him running after them. "Boyer!"

"Run, I'm right behind ya," Jack said, pushing her forward. Dollface hesitated, wanting to go after her brother. "Dollface, go, we can't help him if we's both caught. Now, let's go!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him.

* * *

**so this was kind of long but it was impossible to break it up into smaller chapters, hope you guys don't mind! and also, it's kind of hard to turn the musical number "Seize the Day" into a written story and not make it cheesy. so don't hate me.**


	9. Chapter 9

They ran down the street and turned the corner, with Snyder still on their tail. They had to duck in an alley and climb up a fire escape to lose him. Jack reached down and pulled Dollface up onto the roof. She collapsed onto the ground, pulling her knees up to her stomach and hiding her face in her arms, crying. She could hear Jack's footsteps as he began pacing.

"We's gonna get him," he said in a panicked voice. "We's gonna go back and get him. We'll go to the refuge tonight, I know how to sneak in the back way-"

"Shut up, Jack," Dollface mumbled. She heard his footsteps stop and lifted her head up.

"Dollface, don't cry," he said, barely keeping himself together as it was. "We's gonna keep figthin."

"You said we could do this," she said, trying to calm herself down. "You said we'd win and we'd make our lives betta but I don't see things getting any betta."

"They is gonna get betta," he said, kneeling down in front of her. "We just has to keep goin, keep fightin."

"I'm pretty tired of fightin," she said, attempting to keep the anger out of her voice. "I'm tired of tryin to fight for somethin that just ain't gonna work. And if he was here, I think Crutchie would say he's pretty tired too."

"Yeah but he ain't so we's just got to keep goin-"

"Well I can't keep goin, Jack," she said, her anger growing more and more. "I just can't."

"But we hafta!" he said, trying to be encouraging. "We hafta keep goin for us and for Brooklyn and for Mush and Racetrack and for Crutchie! We hafta!"

"Well maybe I don't wanna!" she yelled, jumping up. "This ain't gonna work! We just got our asses kicked! The police is on their side! We can't get any otha newsies on our side! They took away my brother, Jack! My only family and he's gone, thanks to you!"

"Thanks to me?" Jack said, slowly rising. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You knew there was the chance we'd get caught," she said. "You knew it and instead you kept goin anyhow."

"Yeah well you knew it too," he said. "You knew you could get caught or hurt and you even told me that you'd be fine and yet you're yellin me for it!"

"I ain't yellin at you for almost gettin raped by the Delanceys," she said, through her teeth. "I ain't yellin for gettin shot in the face by Conlon or punched in the stomach by Snyda."

"Then what the hell are you yelling for!"

"I'm yellin cuz you let my brotha be beat up, handcuffed, and dragged away!" she shouted in his face. "You let that happen and did nothin about it! You chose your own skin over your pal's!"

"They already had him, Doll!" he shouted back. "There was nothin I could do 'cept get you outta there! He woulda killed me if I let you get caught too! We can't help him by sittin in the refuge beside him!"

"But you can help him by fightin a lost cause?!"

"Dollface, I know how this feels too!" he shouted annoyed. "He's my friend too! I know that this don't feel good and I know you's hurtin! I'm hurtin too!"

"You don't know how this feels!" she shouted, getting in his face. "We said we'd protect each otha and all I did was let him get caught! I tried to protect him and help him but you got in the way!"

"God, if you was a boy, you'd be lookin at me through one black eye," he said, baring his teeth.

"Go ahead, do it," she said. "You won't though. Cuz no matta how many times I tell you, you still think of me as a helpless little flowa." Much to her surprise, she felt his fist collide with the side of her face. She staggered back, rubbing the spot he hit.

"I GET IT! I get it!" he shouted, throwing his arms up in frustration and exploding with anger. "We's fightin and bleedin and fallin, thanks to good ole Captain Jack! Well have ya ever thought sometimes Captain Jack just wants to close his eyes and GO!"

"THEN GO!" she shouted, walking towards the ladder. "I hope you find your Santa Fe! I hope it's all you eva wanted! So long, pal!" She began her descent down the ladder and fresh tears began to form and silently rolled down her face.

* * *

Dollface spent the rest of day wandering the streets. Lunchtime came and went but she found that she had lost her appetite. She felt hopeless and her mind was empty. Somehow the day went by and she suddenly noticed that it was dark out. Finally, she decided it was time to go back to the boarding house.

She walked inside and up the stairs, to find everyone moping around. There was no laughter and no one was playing cards. In fact, there was almost no conversation at all until Racetrack noticed Dollface standing in the door frame.

"Oh thank God!" he shouted, jumping off of his bed and running over to her. He threw his arms around her and breathed a sigh of relief. Dollface felt more arms around her and looked around to see Mush, Specs, and Boots there too. She shrugged them off and sulked towards her bed. She saw the others watching her and turned to face them.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"Dollface, you can't just come strollin in here afta what happened," Racetrack said, walking up to her. "We all thought they got you. We didn't know what to think."

"Yeah, well I'm fine," she said, leaning up against her bed.

"What happened to ya?" Racetrack asked annoyed. "Last I saw, Oscar was gettin rough on you. Did he punch your face?"

"No, Jack did," she said.

"What?" Mush said. "Jack?"

"Ok, what the hell happened?" Boots asked. "Where's Jack? Where's Crutchie?" She swallowed hard when she heard her brother's name.

"Don't know where Jack is," she said, shoving her hands in her pockets and staring at her old boots. "Don't really care either. We ran off together away from Snyda. We got in a bit of fight. I yelled, he punched."

"Where's Crutchie?" Boots repeated.

"I left Jack on some rooftop," she said, ignoring Boots' question. "After we yelled for a while, I just had to leave. I couldn't stand to see his face anymores."

"Dollface," Racetrack said, tilting her head up to look at him. "Where is Crutchie?"

"Snyda got him," she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. The room went dead silent. "I tried to help him. I tried to but Jack kept pullin me away. And then Snyda came out and took his crutch and…" She trailed off, not wanting to remember the horrific sound of the wooden crutch hitting her brother. She didn't want to remember his screams as he cried out for help. She couldn't stop as a fresh tear rolled down her cheek.

"Hey, it's alright," Racetrack said in a comforting voice. He gently cupped her face and wiped away the tear. Dollface felt her face burn red, embarrassed at crying in front of the boys. She never cried. The last time she cried was before they even came to the boarding house.

"It's gonna be ok," Racetrack said, making her look at him. She saw that his left eye was swelling and a bruise was forming on his cheek. "We's gonna figure this out. It's gonna be ok."

"No it ain't," Dollface said, walking away from him. She wiped away her tears and felt a new wave of anger coming. "It ain't. Crutchie's gone. Jack's gone. We's all gone."

"No we ain't," Mush said. "We's right here."

"Not for long," she said. "This strike ain't gonna work. It's just not."

"Dollface, we can't just give up," Specs said. "We's so close. I know you wanna give up but you gotta be strong."

"We's all gotta be strong," Romeo said.

"Yeah well it's hard to be strong when your only blood is gone," she said, turning her back on them. "I know most of you guys don't got no family but if you did, you'd understand what I feel like."

"We can do this," Kid Blink said encouragingly. "It's gonna be ok."

"But it ain't!" she shouted, her anger coming out again. She turned to face the group of boys. "You didn't hafta see ya best friend get beat up like dat. You didn't hafta see him gettin dragged away by them bastards." She ripped off her cap and threw it angrily at the wall.

"You didn't hafta hear Snyda hittin him with his own crutch! You didn't hafta hear his screams, him crying out to me and Jack for help!" She kicked her bed hard, yelling out in frustration.

"You didn't hafta see the look on his face when he saw Jack dragging me away! You didn't hafta see the look on his face when he realized we wasn't gonna help him! You don't hafta know what it's like to just watch everythin go wrong and not be able to do ANYTHING about it!" She stomped towards the door but Racetrack stuck out his arm, grabbing her and stopping her.

"You ain't leavin, Dollface," he said. "You ain't leavin us afta we spent the whole day wonderin what happened to you. And to Jack and to Crutchie. You's gonna stay wit us and we's gonna figure this out. We's gonna deal wit this somehow." She ripped her arm out of his grip and back away.

"Just try to stop me," she said, running out the door. She heard the sound of a few footsteps chasing after her.

"Dollface! Come back here!" she heard Racetrack call out. She kept running. Running out the door, down the street, around the corner, through an alley. She kept running until she was sure they weren't following her anymore.

* * *

**sorry for the awkward ending to a really short chapter! I continued writing on into the next chapter and then realized how incredibly long it was so I split it here and I'm just now seeing how awkward it is.**

**So I'm glad to hear people are liking this! I actually finished writing the whole story but I'll only be uploading one or two chapters a week until it's finished. We still got a long way to go though so stick with me here!**

**I kinda hate this chapter, and the next one, cuz Dollface is so angsty and mopey and blehhh... hopefully you don't hate it! leave me a review to let me know! (also thank you for any corrections to the names; I swear I checked some website on all the spellings but I guess I didn't. they're fixed now though!)**


	10. Chapter 10

Dollface finally stopped and looked around, trying to figure out where she was. Then she saw a sign that made her stomach drop; it said "Refuge for Delinquent Juveniles."

She looked up at the looming building. It was dark and gloomy and was covered in grime. There were several windows, all covered in dust and dirt. Then there was a gate. It was tall and iron with a large padlock on it. Dollface was still staring at the dreadful building when she heard the sound of a carriage drawing close. She quickly ducked into the shadows of a building and waited for it to pass. When she saw it stop in front of the gates, she acted before even thinking about it.

As a man came out with a large set of keys and began unlocking the gate, she ran behind the carriage and crawled under it. She grabbed onto some wooden planks on the bottom and held herself off the ground with her body flat against the underside of the carriage. She felt it jolt forward as the horses began moving again. She saw it go past the gates and heard the gates close once they had passed through. The carriage stopped before a large set of stone stairs. She acted quickly and ducked out from under the carriage and ran into an alley between two buildings.

She poked her head around the corner and saw a man get out of the carriage. She felt a large surge of anger rise within her when she realized it was Mr. Pulitzer himself. She wanted nothing more than to run up and give him a swift kick in the ass when she heard a quiet whistle. She looked around her and heard it again. She looked up saw a boy poking his head out of a window.

"Hey goil," he said. "What are ya doin? Do ya wanna get caught or somethin?" Dollface looked around to make sure no one was around before responding.

"Hey kid, have you seen a boy who looks like me?" she asked. "He's got a gimp leg and brown hair and lotsa freckles."

"Hold on," he said, ducking inside the room. He came back a few moments later. "Yeah, we's seen him. Came in today, looked beat up real bad. People's said he was part of the strike goin on."

"That's him!" she shouted excitedly.

"Shut it, would ya?" the boy said to her. "What, ya want the whole world to know you's here?"

"Where can I see him?" she asked.

"He's in a room down the hall," the kid said. "Just go in dat alley. Dere's a fire escape. The ladder's locked up but if you can somehow get up onto it, go up three flights and go to dat window. I'll get a message to my buddies in that room that you's comin."

"Thanks kid," she said, running through the alley.

She came to the fire escape and saw that the ladder was indeed locked up. It was dangling a few feet above her head. She jumped, hopelessly grasping at it. She spun around looking for something to stand on and saw some old crates. They were rotten and would most likely break easily but it was all she had to use. She carried them over and stacked them up. She climbed on top and heard the crates cracking. She jumped up and grabbed onto the bottom rung of the ladder as she heard a splitting crack from the crate she jumped off. She didn't have much strength left in her but she used all that she could to pull herself up.

Finally, she climbed onto the first landing. She climbed the stairs up to the third floor and stopped at the window like the kid told her. She knocked on it and a few moments later, a small boy, maybe six or seven years old, came over and opened it.

"Can we help you?" he said, leaning on the sill.

"Is there a kid with a gimp in here?" she asked. "Someone told me he was here."

"Yeah he's here," he said. "Why? What you need him for?"

"He's my brotha," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. He turned around and addressed an older boy, who came to the window.

"Hey, what's the matta?" he said.

"I just wanna see my brotha," Dollface said, exasperated. "He's the one with the gimp. He's got tons of freckles and brown hair-"

"Looks just like you?" he said, completing her sentence. He turned around, craning his neck to look at something, before turning back to her. "I don't think he can come talk to ya right now."

"Yeah he can," she said, irritably. "I'm his sista."

"Ya don't get it," he said, his face turning grim. "He can't get up to come to da window. When he came in, he was already beat up enough. And then they asked him a bunch of questions but he wouldn't answer them and they just made him worse." Dollface pushed the boy aside with her arm and crawled through the window.

"Hey, you can't do this," the boy said, following her as she walked down the row of beds. "If Snyda comes in here and sees you-"

"Then I'll run," she said, turning to face him. "Now where's my brotha?" The boy sighed heavily before leading her down a row of beds. Dollface looked around and was disgusted with what she saw. There were far too many boys for each of them to have their own bed. There was dirt everywhere and she could hear the scurry of mice as they walked down the room. The boys she walked past looked so underfed, it was scary.

Finally, they stopped at a row and the boy stepped aside. Dollface looked down to see the crumpled figure lying on the bed. She felt sick. She walked slowly over to Crutchie, seeing that he was asleep. She stood over him, taking in his appearance. His hair was matted with dried blood from a deep gash she could see on the top of his forehead. His face was bruised and his right eye was swollen. She couldn't see his chest but could see from the way his body was arranged that he must have been kicked or punched a few times. His bad leg was bent at a very disturbing angle.

Crutchie wore a worried expression on his face as he slept restlessly. He muttered under his breath as his expression changed from worried to scared. Dollface knelt down next to the bed and gently brushed his hair with her fingers. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Dollface. It took him a few minutes to recognize it was her but when he did, a large smile spread across his face.

"Hiya Dollface," he said. His voice was very rough, maybe from screaming in pain the whole day. Dollface pushed the thought aside and smiled back.

"Hiya Crutchie," she said. "How ya feelin?" She knew it was a stupid question to ask but didn't know what to say to him.

"Like a bunch of daisies," he said. They both laughed but Crutchie grimaced in pain. "Sorry, hurts to laugh." Dollface swallowed back the familiar lump in her throat.

"Look, I'm gonna get you outta here," she said determined. "You's gonna come wit me and we's gonna walk out those gates."

"Dollface, I ain't walkin so good," he said, ashamed.

"Then I'll carry you out," she said. He shook his head.

"I ain't being carried nowhere," he said firmly. "If I can't walk, I ain't goin nowhere, ya hear?"

"I hear," she said, nodding. "But we's gonna win this strike, ok? We's gonna win. We's gonna fight for you."

"I know you's gonna win," he said. "You's got the best friends anyone could ask for. And you gots Jack." Dollface looked away awkwardly.

"Yeah, we gots Jack," she lied. They were silent for a few moments before Dollface spoke again.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry I let ya get caught. I'm sorry I didn't protect ya."

"This ain't your fault," he said adamantly.

"Yeah it is," she said. "If I hadn't got caught by Oscar, you coulda gotten away. I just shouldn't a called out for ya. You was too busy lookin afta me and you got caught."

"Hey, I would do anythin to protect you," he said, "Even if it meant I got caught and you got away. As long as you's safe, that's all that mattas."

"I'm gonna get you outta here," she said. "I promise." She bent over and kissed his forehead. Just then there was a loud scuffle as the older boy ran over to her.

"Hey, you gotta go," he said urgently. "Snyda's comin."

"I'll see ya later," she said to Crutchie as the boy pulled her away. She ran down the room and reached the window. She turned around to the boy before climbing out.

"Hey, look afta him, will ya?" she asked him. He smiled and nodded.

"Good luck wit the strike," he said, as she climbed out the window. "We's all rootin for ya." They heard the door open and authoritative sounding footsteps.

"Gotta go!" she whispered. He closed the window and she ran down the fire escape stairs. She froze in place when she heard the window reopen. He heart stopped as she slowly looked up. Snyder had his head stuck out the window and was looking around. Dollface slowly began to back up against the wall of the building when the metal beneath her gave an enormous creak, causing Snyder to look down. There was a second, just a second, when they made eye contact and Dollface's heart stopped.

"Boyer!" he shouted, as he pulled his head out the window and slammed it shut. She ran down the remaining flight and began to climb down the ladder. She forgot it didn't go all the way to the ground and dangled in the air for a few sick seconds before letting go. She landed hard on the ground, twisting her ankle slightly, but kept running. She heard a whistle blow loudly and saw two policemen running towards her. She ran towards the gate and her stomach dropped when she saw it was closed and locked. She stopped momentarily to look around for any other way out but saw none. All she saw was the men chasing after her so she ran towards the gate anyway.

She began to climb, using up every ounce of strength she had left in her, and was halfway up when the men reached the bottom of the gate. She felt the gate moving as they began to climb it. One of them tugged on her ankle but she kicked him in the face and kept climbing. She reached the top, climbed over to the other side, jumped down, and hit the ground running.

"I'll get you Boyer!" she heard Snyder yelling. "One Boyer down, one to go!" She ran straight for the boarding house, ducking in an alley to make sure she had gotten rid of them. When she reached the boarding house, she froze outside, took a deep breath, and then walked inside. Kloppman was sitting at the desk, reading a newspaper, but put it down when he saw Dollface walk in.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked sternly. "It's nearly midnight."

"Shut up," she said, walking past him toward the staircase. "You ain't my fatha."

"No I'm not," he said. "But I'm the closest thing you got." His words made Dollface stop.

"Now what happened?" he asked again. "I didn't even see you come in the first time. Next thing I know, there's banging on my bedroom door and Racetrack is going on about Crutchie being caught and Jack's gone missing and you've run out. Now you come waltzing in at midnight and expect me to not be worried? I think I deserve an explanation."

Dollface turned around to face him. She looked like hell. She had a large bruise on her left eyebrow. There was a big scratch that was slightly swollen next to her right eye. Her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. She was favoring one foot and clutching a stich in her side from all the running. Her arms were still scratched up from the night before. But the worst thing was her eyes. There were dark circles under her eyes from such a long, stressful day. The look in her eyes was almost non-existent. They were glazed over as if she wasn't even aware of what was happening.

She opened her mouth to speak but Kloppman walked forward and gave her a hug. It was different that when Jack had hugged her after they ran away from Snyder the night before or when Racetrack and the others hugged her a few hours before; those were desperate hugs, hugs of relief for her wellbeing. This hug was such a loving, fatherly one; she had never experienced this before. She felt so much weight lift off her chest as she felt the strong yet gentle arms around her. For the first time that day, she felt some level of comfort. After a minute or two, Kloppman pulled away.

"You go get some sleep, you hear?" he said. "I told the boys to go to bed hours ago but they're probably still waiting for you. Just go in, get in bed, and close your eyes. I'll get you all up in the morning, ok?" She nodded and walked to the stairs. She turned back to look at Kloppman.

"Thanks," she said, with a slight smile. He nodded kindly towards her and she turned to walk upstairs. The light was out but just as he said, the boys were still awake.

"Are you crazy or something?" Racetrack said, bombarding her the moment she walked in the room. They were all in their beds but hadn't been able to fall asleep.

"Dollface, hey, answer us," Mush said, sitting up.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow," she said, as she climbed up to her bed. "But I needs to sleep. It's been a long day."

"Dollface, you can't just-"

"Shut it, Boots!" Racetrack said. "Let's just go to sleep. We'll go to Tibby's first thing tomorrow morning, alright? Maybe Jack will be there."

Dollface listened as a few people mumbled in agreement and then how it got quiet. She was completely exhausted but could not fall asleep, not with Crutchie still on her mind. But she told herself that they would come up with a plan the next day. He was alright, she repeated. He may not be in good shape but he's alive and they were gonna get him out of there. She slowly drifted off to sleep as the room was filled with the snores of the other boys.

* * *

**so because the last chapter was so short, I uploaded the next one. and also, I kept thinking it was Friday but it's Thursday and that frustrates me so hopefully this will get us all through til tomorrow. (sidenote: I changed the rating to M mostly because the strike was getting violent and language and well... let's just say some other stuff happens later on.) enjoy!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Rise and shine!" Kloppman shouted out. "I let you all sleep in an extra hour. Now I'm not letting you all go out before we do damage control so if you got hurt come see me downstairs. The Sisters dropped off some coffee and bread and even some butter. So get cleaned up and we'll eat some breakfast." Dollface heard him walk away. After a minute she sat up but her head was throbbing, no doubt due to Jack's punch. Her ankle was still sore from twisting in last night and she felt like she had been hit by a carriage. But she got out of bed anyway. She found herself moving mindlessly, doing everything without thinking and just letting her body take over.

She went into the bathroom and washed off all the dirt she had acquired the day before. She washed off the dried blood from her forearms and brushed her hair out with her fingers. She found some pieces of string sitting on the counter and tied her hair into pigtails. When she was leaving the bathroom, Racetrack was walking in. He stopped and looked at her.

"You ok?" he asked. She nodded and continued walking out of the bathroom. She went over to her bed and pulled out the suitcase that she and Crutchie had brought with them when they first came there. She set it on Crutchie's empty bed and opened it, looking for a new shirt. In the boarding house, there was a system of hand-me downs so no one would have to steal any new clothes or waste money buying them. The shirt she pulled out had been given to her by Jack. She made a disgusted face but seeing as it was the only other option, she put it on and stuffed the bag back under the bed. She shoved her feet into her boots, her right ankle throbbing as she did it, and picked up her hat from the ground where she had thrown it the night before. She left the room just as most of the boys were getting up.

She walked down stairs, into the small but cozy dining room, and sat down, pulling over the plate of bread and spreading some butter on it. She sat eating in silence for a few minutes before Kloppman walked in. He poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Dollface before sitting down next to her.

"Thanks," she mumbled sleepily, taking a sip of her coffee. She felt the hot liquid surge through her body and smiled slightly as the warmth spread. She began to feel a little better.

"Have you put anything on that bruise?" Kloppman asked after a minute. "Looks kinda nasty." Before she could reply, he got up and came back a minute later with a cloth soaked in cold water. She took it from him and pressed it to her left eyebrow, where Jack had punched her.

"What else is wrong?" he asked.

"Nothin," she lied. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," he said. "You came in limping last night. Which foot?"

"My right ankle," Dollface said, too tired to argue with him. As he left the room again, Mush, Kid Blink, and Specs came down the stairs. They sat at the far end of the table, away from Dollface, and began eating their bread and coffee.

"Prepare yourselves," Dollface said. "Kloppman's gonna try and fix you all up." Kloppman came back in the room and sat down next to her. He pulled Dollface's right foot up onto his knee, took off her boot and sock, and began to wrap her ankle in a long, torn up piece of fabric. He was finishing up with her when, just like she predicted, he asked the boys what was hurting them. Just like Dollface, they all denied having any injuries but Kloppman wrestled it out of them and came back with wrappings for Mush's sprained wrist, a cold cloth for Kid Blink, and a bandage for a large gash on Specs' arm.

The next thirty minutes to an hour were spent eating breakfast silently and Kloppman repairing everyone's injuries. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt; Dollface seemed to have the worst of it and that's only because she went to the refuge last night too. When at last, everyone had been fixed up and had eaten, Racetrack announced that they should go to the circulation center and see what was happening.

"Well a big heapload of nothin," Mush said, when they arrived. "This is uselss." The gates were still locked at eight o'clock in the morning. They looked inside and saw the Delanceys and Wiesel cleaning up the mess from yesterday.

"No, this is good," Davey said, joining the group. He and Les had been waiting for them when they got there. "We messed them up so bad yesterday that they couldn't sell papers today. That means one more day without Pulitzer's papers being distributed."

"Come on," Racetrack said. "Let's go in Tibby's and regroup. Maybe we'll come up with somethin to do." They all walked around the corner to Tibby's and were glad to see it was empty, meaning they could take up as many tables as they wanted and not have to worry about eavesdroppers. They all placed orders for waters, Racetrack splurged for a seltzer, and took their seats.

"Alright, so what exactly happened yesterday?" Davey asked. "I got Les and me out of there as soon as the police came but we didn't exactly stick around to see what happened."

"Yeah, mom wasn't too happy neither," Les mumbled. He had his arm in a sling and was playing with the frayed edge of the fabric.

"So what happened?" Davey asked, looking around. Some people recounted their personal stories of what happened but Dollface wasn't paying much attention until someone shouted her name.

"Hey, what's up wit you?" Skittery asked. "We've been callin your name bout five times."

"Sorry, not really in the mood for conversation," she shrugged.

"Yeah well you's gonna have to converse," Racetrack said, pulling up a chair. He turned it around, straddled it and sat right in front of her. "Now what happened to you yestaday?" Dollface sighed, took a sip of water, and then looked around at everyone before taking a breath.

"Oscar came up and grabbed me from behind," she said, not wanting to relive what happened. "He started carryin me away when Crutchie came up and punched him in da face. Then we started runnin away when Morris punched Crutchie and shoved me outta the way. That's when Jack came up. Told me to run and he'd get Crutchie." Dollface paused, remembering that this was where things went wrong. She didn't want to continue but received and encouraging look from Racetrack and went on.

"But then Snyda showed up and we had to hide behind a cart," she continued. "He, uh… he picked up Crutchie's crutch and hit him wit it. Hard. Jack didn't let me see nothin but I heard it. Worst sound in da world. Then they started draggin him off and I ran afta him but Jack grabbed me and carried me outta there. We was gonna go back in for him but then Snyda came afta us so we ran." She paused again to take a sip of her water before continuing.

"We ran and then climbed up onto some roof," she said. "Then we got into a fight. We started yellin at each otha. He punched me and I said some stuff that wasn't so nice. But then I left. I couldn't stand to come back to da house just then so I walked around for a while. I didn't know what to do."

"Where's Jack?" Davey asked. Dollface shrugged.

"Who knows?" she replied. "Who cares?"

"We care," Mush said. "Jack's our leader. Without him, well, we's lost."

"We'll find him," Davey said confidently. "Somehow we will. He can't just abandon us. He wouldn't just leave the strike just when it's started."

"Well you might wanna hop a train," Dollface said. "Cuz from what we said to each otha last, he's goin to Santa Fe."

"Aw, no he ain't," Specs said. "He's been griping about Santa Fe for years. Besides, he ain't got the money to get there."

"You didn't hear him up on dat roof though," Dollface said, playing with her water glass, moving it around in circles on the table.

"Where'd ya go afta ya ran out on us last night?" Kid Blink asked.

"The refuge," she said. "I didn't mean to go there at first but I just ended up there. Snuck in through the gates when a carriage came through. Some kid saw me and poked his head out the window. I asked if he had seen a kid wit a gimp come in and he told me to climb up the fire escape in the alley and go to the third floor window. So I did. Talked to some kids and found out Crutchie was in that room."

"That's great!" Boots said excitedly. "So you saw him? Did he come talk to you?" Dollface swallowed, remembering the sight of his beaten body lying crumpled on the bed.

"He was so busted up, he couldn't even come to da window," Dollface said through her teeth. "Turns out afta he got to the refuge, they did a numba on him. Asked him questions but he wouldn't answer none of 'em. They beat him up bad, guys." The room was silent for a minute before she went on.

"But I snuck through the window," she said, "and walked over to talk to him. I won't eva forget how he looked. He made a joke and it hurt him to laugh. But we talked for a bit. I told him we'd win. That we'd fight for him and I was gonna get him outta there."

"And we will," Racetrack said, putting a comforting hand on her arm. "We is gonna win and we's gonna be seein Crutchie real soon." Dollface nodded.

"So then Snyda came in the room," Dollface said but was cut off by Snipeshooter.

"Wait, there's more?" he asked in astonishment. "You got beat up by the Delanceys, got in a fight wit Jack, and snuck into the refuge in one day and there's still more?" Everyone laughed, releasing tension they didn't know was there.

"Yeah well Snyda came in, right? So I climbed down the fire escape. I had to jump off the ladder, that's how I hurt my ankle, and he called some police on me. I ran over to the gate and had to climb it and they was climbin right on my tail. But I made it to the top and hopped over it and ran away."

"_Then_ you went back to the house?" Snipeshooter asked.

"Yes, then I went back to the house and I went to bed," she said, concluding her story. "But I don't see what the big deal is."

"You don't gets what was goin on when you was gone," Racetrack explained. "We spent the whole day in the house, tryin to get ourselves cleaned up a bit. We didn't wanna tell Kloppman what happened but he figured it out when he saw Bumlets with a bloody nose."

"He gave us a real numba then," Mush interjected. "Said he was real disappointed that we'd turned to violence and that we shoulda thought betta about it. We told him it wasn't our fault, it was those scabbas, but he was just glad we was ok."

"But we sat around all day waiting for you or Jack or Crutchie," Racetrack continued. "We tried to keep our minds off of it but it was too hard. Then finally you come in lookin like hell-"

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically.

"Well you did!" Racetrack said. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost or somethin. We didn't know what to think. All we knew was that one more person was safe. And then you start yellin and freakin out."

"My brotha had just been taken by Snyda!" she shouted defensivesly. "I had just gotten in a huge fight wit Jack!"

"I know!" Racetrack said. "But you come in, not tellin us anythin, then start yelling and kickin stuff and then storm out again. We didn't know what to do. We thought you was gonna…" He trailed off, looking around awkwardly.

"What?" Dollface asked.

"We thought you was gonna hurt yourself or somethin," Boots finished for him. "We thought you was gonna do somethin stupid to get put in the refuge wit Crutchie."

"That's stupid! I can't help Crutchie if I'm in there too," she said. Then she realized it was exactly what Jack had said the day before. She was beginning to feel guilty about yelling at him when he had just been trying to do the right thing.

"But that's in the past," Davey said, bringing them back to the present. "We need to focus on the future. What are we going to do? What's our next move?"

"I don't know," Kid Blink mumbled. "I always thought Jack would just stick around and tell us what to do."

"Yeah well he ain't here," Mush said. "So we's just gonna hafta figure something out."

"We ain't gonna be able to do this," Romeo said. "Not without Jack."

"Why looking so glum, fellas?" Everyone looked up and saw Katherine Plumber enter the room with a paper in her hand and smile on her face.

"We got our asses kicked yestaday," Skittery said. "You was there. Shouldn't you know?"

"And now thanks to my article," she said, slapping a paper down on the table, "everyone else will too." Everyone jumped up and crowded around the table to see for themselves. It was a front page article, above the fold, with a large picture of them at the strike yesterday. The headline was in big black letters: "NEWSIES STOP THE WORLD." In the picture, there were ripped papers everywhere and they all had their fists in the air and triumphant smiles on their faces. Dollface's smile faded when she saw Crutchie in the picture, unknowing of what was about to happen to him. She backed away, suddenly less excited and sat back in her chair away from everyone.

"That's me! That's me, Mush!" Boots said, excitedly pointing to his face in the picture.

"Yeah, I can see," he said, brushing Boots off. He looked up to Katherine. "But exactly how many people is gonna read this. If we ain't out sellin papes, then who's gonna sell them?" Katherine's smile faltered slightly.

"It seems Mr. Pulitzer has paid off some boys to sell papers," she said. "They're out on the streets right now. He's promised to pay them twice what they earn each day."

"Well as long as it's got our faces on it," Mush said, grabbing the paper and leaning back in his chair to read the article.

"So where's Jack?" she asked looking around.

"We don't know," Racetrack shrugged. "Dollface was the last person to see him. They had a bit of a fight and she ran off. Haven't seen him since yestaday mornin."

"Is it true they arrested Crutchie?" Katherine asked. Dollface tensed up, clenching her fists until her knuckles turned white.

"Yeah, they did," she said quietly. She didn't look up and chose to stare at her glass of water but she overheard Katherine whisper to Racetrack.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Crutchie's her brotha," he explained. "She was there when they got him. There wasn't anythin they could do to help him."

"Oh that's terrible," she whispered. "I had no clue."

"Yeah you don't," Dollface said, jumping up suddenly. "You don't got no clue at all, do ya lady?"

"Dollface, shut up," Boots said. "Be nice to her, will ya? She got is in the pape!"

"The very pape we's been sellin every day," she replied. "The same pape that costs a penny more for us to buy. She comes from the peoples we's tryin to fight against!"

"Now I may be a reporter," Katherine interjected. "But I do not work for Pulitzer or Hearst. I did not make the decision to raise the prices nor do I support the decision. In fact, I wish I had been able to write a more opinionated piece about the matter but my editor wouldn't allow it. I'm on your side, don't you see?"

"Yeah, well I don't care," Dollface said, walking towards the door. "Come and find me when we know what the hell we're doin." And with that she left. As she was passing by an open window, she overheard part of their conversation.

"Don't mind her," Mush was saying. "She's still upset 'bout Crutchie."

"They was real close," Boots said. "I was here when they came to the house. Neva seen a pair of kids so scared. They haven't left each otha's sides since."

Dollface continued walking, wandering the streets as she had come accustomed to in the past twenty four hours. As she walked, she noticed the boys Katherine told them about. They were on almost every corner, selling their papers. But they weren't wearing the old, ratty clothes the other newsies wore. They were dressed to the nines with nice button up shirts and pressed vests. There weren't any holes in their pants and their shoes looked brand new. Must have been another perk to selling papers for Pulitzer.

As Dollface continued walking the streets, she passed by the playhouse. Occasionally, some of the boys would sneak in the back to watch some numbers and Dollface would accompany them, never really watching the pretty girls dance and sing in dolled up clothing with feathers all over them. But she liked the company of the boys, liked to see them laughing and having a good time. She smiled fondly at the memories there and continued walking when she heard a voice through the open back door.

"I told you to take this money." It was Medda Larkin, the lead performer at the playhouse. She was always very kind to the newsies and never called them out for sneaking in to watch her shows. Dollface was about to walk in and talk to her when she heard another voice and froze.

"I told ya, I don't want no charity," Jack said. Dollface sucked in a breath at the sound of his voice. She didn't know if she wanted to talk to him or not.

"It's not charity if you work for it," Medda said. "You've been working all morning, now take this."

"Thank ya, Medda," Jack muttered, as Dollface guessed that he had accepted the money she gave him. "I'm just gonna clean up here and then I'll be on my way."  
"You're more than welcome to stay," she said kindly. "I always enjoy your company."

"Thank ya, Medda, but I got places to be."

"You're not still talking about Santa Fe, are you?" she asked, with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Well now I got enough money to get up and go," he said. "I gots to get outta here, don't ya get it?"

"Honey, are you running away? Or running to somewhere?" she asked. "Because if you're running away and it doesn't work out, you've got nowhere to go. But if you're running to somewhere and things go sour, you've always got somewhere to go back to."

Jack didn't reply and Dollface heard the click of Medda's heels walking away. She leaned up against the cool brick wall, not knowing what to do. She wanted to go in and talk to him, to maybe apologize for what happened. She did feel slightly guilty about yesterday. She took a deep breath, swallowed her pride and walked into the room. Jack had his back to her and was washing his arms in a bucket of water. There were wet paint brushes lying around and open cans of paint sitting on a table. Leaning up against a wall was a flat covered in cloth with a painted scenery of a sun setting over an open, grassy field. Jack didn't hear Dollface come in, so she cleared her throat. He snapped his head around, saw it was her, and then turned back to what he was doing.

"What are you doin here?" he asked roughly.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, walking around to stand in front of him.

"Just helpin Medda out," he said, keeping his eyes down and focused on washing his hands. Dollface turned around and looked at the picture.

"You did that?" she asked astonished. "I didn't know you could paint."

"Yeah, well I don't really have any reason to paint," he said. "Don't do me much good when sellin papes."

"Are you sellin papes again?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "Thought about it though. Might help me to make more money to get to Santa Fe."

"You ain't really gonna go, are ya?" she asked. He didn't reply and merely kept washing his hands, even though they were already clean.

"Jack, would ya look at me?" she said annoyed. "I'm tryin to talk to ya." He looked up at her, with an angry frown on his face and his right eye swollen and bruised.

"What? What do you want?" he asked, standing up. "I thought you said everythin you wanted to yestaday. You comin to tell me again that it's my fault we all got our asses kidcked?"

"I _was_ coming to apologize," she said. "But I can see you don't wanna hear it."

"You? _You_ was comin to apologize," Jack said shocked. "No, not Dollface. She don't apologize for nothin, see, cuz she's always right. She's too stubborn to say she was wrong."

"Jack would ya shut it!" she yelled. "I didn't come here to fight no more."

"Yeah well it don't matta much to me what you came here for," he said, turning around and picking up paint brushes. "I'm leavin in a few days so you can just pretend ya neva met me."

"Are you really running away?" she asked. "One little scuffle with some scabbas and a fight wit your best friend and that sends you packin?"

"It wasn't a little scuffle, Dollface!" he shouted, throwing the paint brushes into the bucket, splashing water everywhere. "We all got pretty busted up. I put everyone in danger and Crutchie's in the refuge."

"Yeah, I haven't forgot," she mumbled.

"So yeah, I'm sorry to tell ya that I won't be stickin around no longer," he said, grabbing a rag and mopping up the splashed water.

"But what about us?" she asked. "Are ya really just gonna leave your friends behind?" He said nothing, but continued wiping up the water. Dollface knelt down to his level.

"Or are ya just too scared to keep goin?" she asked. It was cruel but she knew she would get some kind of reaction out of him. "You's too cowardly to finish what ya started. You's leavin us with the big old mess you made."

"There ain't nothin that says you hafta be born and die here. Nothing sayin that you can't get out and breathe fresh air." He stood up and starting wiping down the table.

"So that's it? Just leave when things get tough," she said to his back. "Ya know, I believed you. I believed that we could do this, that we could make a difference and show Pulitzer that we ain't nothin, that we's a force to be reckoned with." Jack said nothing.

"I believed in you, Jack," she said, less harshly. "I believed in everything you've eva said, even before this damn strike. You's my best friend, nexta Crutchie of course. And now we's just gonna say so long?" He spun around, throwing the rag angrily at the floor.

"Damnit, Dollface!" he shouted. "I was ready to go! I was ready to leave and neva see you guys again! I was plannin on not sayin goodbye, just letting you guys figure out that I skipped town. But then you come waltzin in here and change everything!"

"Go, Jack! I don't care! But you know who will care?" she asked. "All those kids who stand on street corners sellin papes in the rain and snow and heat. All those kids at the boardin house who look up to ya. We's all countin on you and if you leave, you's letting us down." Jack said nothing but just stared awkwardly at his shoes.

"And Crutchie too," she said softly. "You promised me that we'd get him outta there. And I promised him we'd win. We'd win for him. But how is goin to Santa Fe gonna help Crutchie?" He turned around and started picking at a dried spot of paint on the table.

"Fine, Jack, be this way," she said, walking to the door. "You can act like a little kid and leave us and go be a cowboy." When she reached the door, she hesitated and then turned around.

"And me too, Jack," she said. "I'd care if you was gone too." And with that she left.

* * *

**I love writing fights between Dollface and Jack cuz they're both so stubborn. Just saying. Also, I actually tried to use the word "angstily" when describing something Dollface did but sadly, it is not a word. Leave me a review and enjoy! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Just a heads up, this chapter is a bit different than previous ones so sorry if you don't like it.**

* * *

Dollface went back to the boarding house a little early that day. She sat around the bedroom shuffling a deck of cards over and over until the boys began arriving. They entered the room laughing and with a cheerful demeanor, despite what had been happening twenty four hours ago. Dollface gathered the cards, stood up, and set them on a table at the end of the room. She was just about to leave when Mush caught her attention.

"Hey, can ya stick around a bit more?" he asked. "We gotta talk some more." After her encounter with Jack, she really wasn't in the mood to talk strategy but didn't have the energy to argue with him. So she shrugged and sat on the outskirts of the group. When most of the boys had come back, Racetrack quieted them down before speaking.

"Ok so we got a little distracted when Katherine showed up at Tibby's," he said. "And we didn't get much done. So we really gotta focus here. We really gotta think. What do we gotta do?"

"We needs more support," Specs said. "We need to get people to pay attention to us and know that we ain't kiddin."

"Well Katherine's article sure is gonna help," Boots said.

"Yeah but we needs the otha newsies to step in," Specs said. "We needs Woodside and Richmond and Flushing."

"What we needs is Brooklyn," Kid Blink said. "You heard the otha newsies, they ain't doin nothing til they know what Spot and his gang is doin."

"We gotta get Brooklyn on board," Racetrack said. "If we get Brooklyn, then everyone else will follow too."

"Yeah, but how is we gonna do that?" Bumlets asked. "Not even Jack and Davey could convince Conlon. If they can't do it, then who the hell can." Dollface knew where this was heading and tried to sneak out of the room before they got there. She was almost home free when Romeo called her out.

"Dollface, get back here!" he yelled at her. She turned around and faced the group.

"I'm tellin you, I ain't goin to see Spot Conlon," she said for what felt like the dozenth time.

"Dollface, we ain't askin you," Racetrack said. "We's beggin ya. Come on, we can't do nothin if we don't get Spot on board." She looked around at their eager faces and sighed heavily.

"Fine, I'll go tomorrow afta breakfast," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, we was thinkin you could go now," Racetrack muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"What?!" she said, nearly dumbfounded. "You's crazy."

"We need ya to go now!" he said. "If we know by tomorrow morning whether they's on board or not, then we can go right to Woodside and Richmond and all ova the place and tell them that Brooklyn's on."

"Let me get this straight," Dollface said, trying to control her temper. "You want me to go to Brooklyn to meet with Spot Conlon at night… _alone_?"

"You sure didn't have no problem runnin out last night past ten," Skittery interjected.

"Yeah but-"

"No 'yeah but's," Racetrack said. "If you can sneak into the refuge and escape from Snyda three times in two days, then you can go to Brooklyn at night. In fact, compared to Snyda, Spot should look like Prince Charmin." Some of the boys laughed but stopped when Dollface glared at them. She said nothing but walked over to her bed, snatching her cap off the bed post, and pulling it onto her head.

"You owe me!" she shouted as she walked out the door. She grabbed a few pieces of bread off the table and snuck out while Kloppman was reading the paper, not wanting to have to explain it to him.

"This is for Crutchie," she said to herself, taking a bite of bread. "This is for Crutchie."

* * *

"Well, well, well. Look who's here?" Spot was swimming in the water again and looked up at Dollface as she stared down at him. He wore a haughty smirk on his face.

"Need us to dispose of her?" Dollface turned around to see a boy almost the size of the Delanceys start approaching her, cracking his knuckles.

"Easy, Red," Spot said. "She's a friend of mine." The boy named Red looked disappointed as he walked back to the rest of their gang. It was amazing that Spot was considered the leader because each boy looked to be at least eighteen. They were all very muscular and did not look friendly. Spot was the smallest of them all, and most likely the youngest, yet there was obviously some reason why they followed Spot Conlon.

"Look, Conlon, we gotta talk," Dollface said, turning back to Spot.

"Alright, alright, I'll go out wit ya," he said, a broad smile across his face. "Just stop askin, will ya?"

"Spot, this is serious," she said, almost pleadingly. Spot must have seen the urgency in her face, despite it being pitch black, because he stopped smiling and sent the other members of his gang away.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "More wit the strike?"

"We got into a bit of a fight yestaday," Dollface said. "There was police and Mr. Snyda-"

"Snyda? From the refuge?" Spot asked. Dollface nodded and Spot splashed the water angrily. "I hate his guts. He's nabbed too many of my pals."

"Yeah well he nabbed my brotha," Dollface said. "And he's afta me and Jack now."

"Speakin of Jack, where is he?"

"We don't know," Dollface said. "Well actually, looks like he's gonna up and leave us, last I talked to him. Gonna go to-"

"Santa Fe, yeah we know," Spot said, swimming towards the ladder. "He's been talkin 'bout it so long it everyone knows about it by now. Just like his encounta wit Teddy Roosevelt. What happened again?" He began climbing the ladder.

"He snuck into his carriage when he was visitin the refuge and escaped," Dollface answered simply. When Jack would tell the story, he would go on for thirty minutes, dramatizing every second of it. But Dollface didn't have time for that. She was there to get a job done.

"Hey Spot, you naked again?" she asked quickly. He stopped climbing the ladder.

"Yeah, why?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and then closed them.

"Alright, come up and put your pants on," she said. She heard his wet feet hit the wooden dock and walk past her.

"Ok, I'm fine now," he said. She opened her eyes and saw he was standing with nothing but a dirty old towel wrapped around his waist. "Don't know why it mattas to you, you live with thirty boys."

"Yeah, but I ain't seen 'em naked before," she replied.

"So why's you here again?" he asked as he sat up on a large barrel. "You was sayin Jack's leavin?"

"Looks that way. But we need you, Spot," Dollface said, walking towards him. "We need Brooklyn."

"Naw you don't," he brushed off. "You's got the Bronx and Flushing and-"

"None of 'em won't join us unless you's there too," she cut him off. "We really can't do anything else for this strike, unless you's there too." The corner of his mouth turned up into a half smile and she took a seat next to him.

"So you need me, huh?" he asked. He stood up and walked to the other side of the dock, looking out onto the water as the stars reflected in it. There was almost no moon that night, only a tiny sliver, so it was a rather dark night. But the stars were still very bright.

"Yeah, we needs you," Dollface admitted. "We all need you. Cuz without Jack, we can't do much. He just has a way wit words. The charm he uses to tell papes is the same he uses to persuade people or impress them."

"Yeah, I've seen it," Spot said, taking off his towel to dry off the rest of his body. Dollface groaned and looked down at the ground.

"Come on, Spot, no one wants to see your bare ass," she said. He only laughed as he continued to dry off. Then he walked over to a pile of clothes and began dressing.

"But I'm serious Conlon," Dollface said, watching him get dressed. "We gots to have Brooklyn in this fight. This fight ain't just Jack's. It's all of ours, whether we want it to be or not. And we need everyone in it."

"I still don't know," he said, buttoning up his blue plaid shirt. "Why should I get involved in a fight that Jack Kelly quit?"

"I don't think he did," Dollface said. "Jack Kelly may be a lot of things but he ain't no quitta. He says he's leavin but I don't think he will. His heart's still here, wit us."

"You don't think he'll go to Santa Fe?" he asked, lacing up his boots. Dollface shook her head.

"He's got too much history here," she said. "It goes against everything Jack is to leave us in a fight he started." Spot nodded, slipping red suspenders on over his shoulders and pulling a cap out of his pants pocket.

"Well, if ya ask me, this fight was gonna happen sometime," he said, placing it on his head. "Whether it was in a year or ten. It just so happens that we's the one's fightin it."

"So will ya help?" she asked. Spot opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a loud shout.

"I found ya now!" Dollface and Spot turned around to the bridge behind them and Dollface saw the man she never thought she'd see again: her father.

"Oh my shit," she said, jumping up. She ran over to Spot, grabbed his hand and started running. "We gotta get outta here."

"Who's dat? Someone who works for Snyda?" Spot asked running behind her.

"It's my fatha," she answered grimly but Spot let out a laugh.

"Who woulda thought! Dollface has got a fatha!" he howled.

"Shut up, and get running," she said. "If he catches me, he will kill me."

"Naw he won't-"

"Yes, he will," she said, looking around to Spot. Finally, he understood the gravity of the situation and picked up the pace to keep up with Dollface.

"Get back here you ungrateful brat!" her father shouted after them. He was running fast and was catching up to them.

"You gotta plan?" Spot asked in between breaths.

"Nothin!" she shouted. "Just keep runnin!" They ran down the streets into a more populated area of the city. Dollface was hoping that they could get lost in the crowd. But the most crowded street only had ten or fifteen people on it.

"Dollface, we gotta do-" Spot panted behind her but was cut off. Dollface heard a loud thump and spun around to see him knocked down on the ground by her father, who was no lunging for her. He must have caught up to them quickly and quietly because they hadn't noticed the closing distance between them.

He knocked Dollface to the ground and grabbed at her throat. She tried to move but he had his knee in her gut, preventing her from fighting back much. She grabbed hopelessly at his hands as they closed around her throat, tighter and tighter.

"Finally got you," he said with an evil gleam in his eyes. "Heard ya brotha got caught. He's in the refuge. Told them to give him hell for runnin away from such a loving father." Dollface was gasping for air but still struggling underneath him.

"Got one kid taken care of there, thanks to Snyda," he said. "Now just gotta take care of one more. One down, one to go." Dollface felt the world fading from her as she stopped struggling and was no longer able to breath. Her disgusting father's face was fading in and out of focus and the world was around her was slowly fading to white.

Then as suddenly as he had caught them, his hands were ripped off her throat. Dollface gasped in a huge breath of air and began coughing. She turned over onto all fours, taking in precious gulps of air and trying to slow down her breath. When she finally caught her breath, she looked around to see a policeman tackling her father to the ground. Spot had run over to Dollface and knelt down next to her.

"You ok?" he asked. She nodded, still gasping for air somewhat. They watched as the policeman handcuffed the terrible man and roughly pulled him to a standing position.

"I'm tellin you," he was pleading. "This is my daughta. She ran away and I've been runnin afta her for nearly a year."

"Ma'am," the policeman said, looking to Dollface. "Do you know this man?"

"No sir," she said. "Do I look like the kind of kid who gots a fatha?"

"Thank you," he replied. "He won't be bothering you anymore." He tugged on her father's arms and lead him away, all the while he was screaming at Dollface awful threats until the policeman hit him in the face with his club. Spot and Dollface sat on the ground, watching them walk out of sight and then turned to each other.

"I don't believe it," Dollface said. "He's been lookin for us for years. Years! And now he's gone. He's gone, oh my god, he's gone!" She jumped up and pumped her fist through the air elated.

"Oh my god, I gotta tell Crutchie. I gotta go back home and sneak back into the refuge. He'll be so-" She never finished her sentence as Spot had grabbed her face and pulled her into a kiss. It took her a few seconds to respond to what was happening before she pulled away. She looked at him confused.

"Oh shit," he muttered, realizing what he had done. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just-"

"Spot Conlon, I ain't neva seen you so flustered before," Dollface said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. It was a surprisingly gentle kiss for someone who grew up in Brooklyn and someone who had just nearly been strangled. The kiss began to intensify the longer they stood there. Dollface's hands wandered down and pressed up against his strong chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They began moving, still kissing, and stumbled into the nearest alley.

Spot pressed her up against the wall as they deepened the kiss. Dollface moved her hands into his head, tossing his hat off to the ground. His hair still wet from his swim earlier that evening and she moved her fingers around, combing them through his thick curls. Spot moved his hand down to her outer thigh. She was surprised at how gentle his hands felt. Dollface felt herself smile and Spot pulled away, giving her a perplexed look.

"So I take this means you's gonna help us?" she asked.

"Shut up," he said, closing in for another kiss.

* * *

**Well, I told you it was different! Just gotta say I love Spot and I feel like he's such a great match to Dollface's stubbornness, anger, and ferocity, you know? Anyway, so now Spot's gonna be in the story a lot more. So I'm leaving for the beach for the weekend and then coming back for my LAST DAY OF SCHOOL EVER on monday and then going back again so I'm gonna update now and then Sunday night and then it'll probably be another week until another update so make these chapters last!**


	13. Chapter 13

Dollface stayed the night with Spot in Brooklyn. They didn't do much except kiss a lot but what Dollface liked the most was sleeping so close next to another person, feeling the warmth from his body and hearing his heart beat when she laid her head on his chest. Dollface had to rip herself away from him when the sun was beginning to rise.

"Just stay a little more," he said, pulling her back into his makeshift bed he had set up in an alley near his docks. She slipped her hands out of his.

"I can't," she insisted. "I gotta go. Do you know how much shit I'm gonna get from the boys if they find out I stayed ovanight?"

"Who cares about them?" he asked, sitting up.

"Yeah, well you don't gotta live with them," she said, rolling over and putting on her boots. "It might be a good thing Crutchie's in the refuge. He'd kill you if he found out what happened."

"Crutchie? Don't he got a gimp," Spot asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He'd still kill you," she replied, slipping on her other boot as she felt an arm snake around her waist. She tried to focus on lacing up her shoe but it was rather hard when Spot began kissing her neck.

"Spot, stop it," she laughed. He buried his face in the nape of her neck.

"Do you hafta go?" he whined, his voice muffled. She stood up and faced him.

"Yes, I hafta," she said. "I can't just throw away the day for a bum like you." He lunged forward and pulled her on top of him.

"Please, stay," he pleaded. It was so hard for Dollface to say no to those piercing blue eyes. She opened her mouth to respond but he stopped her with a kiss and flipped her over, pinning her down.

"Come on… I'm serious… I ain't jokin… Spot… You bastard," she said in between kisses. He began to gradually move from her lips, kissing her chin and moving his way down her neck, sucking and biting as he went. Though Dollface was still in a hurry to leave, she couldn't help but enjoy his lipwork. She bit her lip, suppressing a small moan and not giving him the satisfaction of knowing she was enjoying this.

"Ow!" she said, when he bit a bit too hard. She rubbed a spot on her neck, wet from his lips and tongue. He laughed and she pushed him off of her, slipping out from under him. She bent down to pick up her hat and slipped her suspenders on over her shoulders.

"I'll see ya at the strike," she said, kissing him deeply but pulling away when he reached up to touch her face.

"Hey, no fair!" he said as she ran down the alley, pulling her hat on.

"Dollface," he said, making her turn around. "You eva tell anyone about this and I'll kill you."

"Works both ways, Conlon," she said with a wink and ran off.

* * *

Dollface got lucky. Kloppman must have decided to let them all sleep in a little that morning because when she came to the boarding house, it was silent. She could hear snores from behind Kloppman's door and was relieved to avoid an awkward encounter with him. She slipped off her boots, so she could sneak upstairs without waking anyone, and tiptoed upstairs and through the bedroom. She was almost at her bed when a voice called out.

"Dollface?" Racetrack said through a yawn. "That you?"

"Uh… yeah," she said. "Just got up to use the bathroom. Go back to sleep." She continued climbing into her bed but Racetrack kept talking.

"Hey, why'd you have your boots in ya hand?" he asked, sitting up and looking over at her. His bed was a top bunk too and right across from hers.

"I um… accidentally left them on when I came home last night," she said, turning to look at him. "Got home late and fell right to sleep. Just now took 'em off."

"Why's your hat still on?" he asked, with smirk on his face. Dollface snapped her hand up to her head and ripped it off.

"No it ain't," she said, quickly. "You must be pretty tired, go back to sleep." But she wasn't fooling Racetrack.

"What's that red mark on your neck?" he asked, haughtily. Dollface clapped her hand to her neck, feeling a bite mark and slight swelling.

"Got beat up last night?" she said, grasping hopelessly at something. A large smiled slowly spread across Racetrack's face.

"You and Spot did stuff, didn't ya?" he shouted excitedly.

"Shhhh!" she hushed him. "Ya want everyone to wake up or somethin?" Suddenly, the room erupted into laughter.

"We's already awake, Doll," Mush laughed out. "We heard the door open downstairs."

"So you and Spot, huh?" Specs said, putting his glasses on and looking up at her from his bed.

"Looks like she's gotta soft _spot_ for Brooklyn," Skittery said, making the room laugh even louder. Dollface felt her face burn bright red as she climbed further into bed and got under her blankets.

"Shut up and let me sleep!" she yelled at them. "I didn't get much last night."

"Yeah, I'll say," Kid Blink mumbled, earning more laughter. Dollface groaned and pulled her pillow over her ears but it was soon ripped out of her hands. Snipeshooter, who slept in the bed next to her, was standing next to her holding her pillow.

"Hey, tell me," he asked, leaning on her bed. "Is he a good kissa?" Dollface slapped him but everyone still laughed. She gave up the hope of getting a little more sleep and hopped down from her bed. She walked over to the bathroom, ignoring their laughs.

"I'm gonna clean up," she mumbled.

"Oh, it's best you do that," Racetrack said, howling with laughter. "You've been a dirty goil!"

* * *

After an hour of jokes and laughter, they finally calmed down enough for Dollface to tell them what happened, other than what they already knew. They all sat around outside the circulation gates, which were still closed, and had met up with Davey and Les.

"So when I got there, we chatted a bit about why I was there and such," she said, not telling them that she saw him naked again, "and I had just about convinced him when my fatha came chasin afta us."

"You gots a fatha?" Mush asked amazed. "I thought you and Crutchie was orphans."

"As far as we's concerned, we don't got no fatha," she said. "He's awful. He was always beatin us when we was little. He's the reason why Crutchie's got a gimp. So we ran away. Anyhow, he found us and me and Spot started runnin away when he knocked over Spot and pinned me to the ground. He started choking me, sayin he heard that Crutchie was in the refuge and now he was takin care of me."

"How did he find you?" Davey asked. Dollface shrugged.

"No clue," she said. "For all I know, he's been stumbling around the whole city, drunk, for years, lookin for us. So anyways, he was choking me right? And I thought I was gonna die, right then and there, when some policeman grabbed him and pulled him offa me. Asked me if I knew the man and I said I'd neva seen him. So they dragged him off and I'm guessin he's in jail." Dollface couldn't hide the triumphant gleam in her eyes.

"Just wait till I tell Crutchie," she said excitedly.

"Yeah, we got somethin to tell him too," Bumlets muttered, making the people around him burst out in laughter. Dollface ignored them and continued.

"Anyway, that's when Spot told me he'd help us out," she said, glossing over their kiss. "Said he'd bring some of his pals ova afta lunch tomorrow. So we can go out and get the otha newsies then!"

"That's great and all, Dollface," Racetrack said. "But we gots to know something." Dollfaced narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"What's that?"

"How exactly did you go from nearly getting killed to getting nasty with Spot Conlon?" he asked. Dollface ignored the catcalls and walked through the group, past everyone. She walked to the end of the street and when they weren't following, she turned around.

"So who wants the Bronx?" she asked.

* * *

It had been another long day but at least there weren't any fights. They has all split up again and gone to the different areas of the city and met up with the other newsies. They received lots of positive news when they mentioned that Spot Conlon and his Brooklyn newsies were behind the strike. They all made the plans to meet up at Manhattan's circulation center where it had all begun. No one knew what to expect but it was important that all the newsies be there so they could all negotiate.

After gathering at Tibby's and reporting everyone's findings, they all decided to make signs. They split up and ran around the streets, looking in alleys for any old busted crates or anything they could paint. Dollface snuck into the Playhouse to see if she could nick a can of paint and paint brush and was tip-toing out the door when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She dropped the things in her hands and spun around.

"I wasn't doin nothing!" she blurted out before seeing it was Medda. "Oh, it's just you."

"What are you doing?" she asked her, as Dollface bent down to pick up the paint and paintbrush.

"We's makin strike signs for tomorrow," she said. "I figured you wouldn't miss a can of paint and a paintbrush." Medda put her hands on her hips and gave Dollface an unyielding look. Dollface blushed guiltily, walked over to the table, and set the paint and brush on it.

"I'll be goin now," she mumbled defeated.

"Were you here yesterday?" Medda asked. Dollface nodded.

"Yeah, I thought that was your voice," she said. "Did you and Jack get in another fight? He told me about your first one up on the roof."

"I wouldn't call it a fight," Dollface muttered. "You kinda hafta have two people yellin for it to be a fight. He would barely say anythin."

"Well he looked pretty mad when I came back in the room," she said. "Why can't you two get along?" Dollface shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets and looking down at her shoes. If anyone could make Dollface feel bad, it was Medda.

"Come on, sugar," Medda said, tilting her chin up. "What's wrong?"

"Oh ya know. My brotha's in the refuge, we's in the middle of a strike, I'm gettin pounded on more than usual, and now my best friend wants to go to stupid Santa Fe," she stated nonchalantly. "The usual."

"Well your brother's going to be ok. It's not like Crutchie to get too depressed over something," Medda said. "He'll be the same old cheerful Crutchie when we see him next."

"But when will that be?"

"Well, not until this strike is over," she replied. "And you will win this. They can't ignore you kids for too long. I know I couldn't." Dollface smiled a little.

"As for getting pounded on, well I can't help you there, but I know you're a smart girl," she said, "And you're strong. You won't let a couple bullies knock you down."

"But Jack won't talk to me," Dollface said. "He just gets mad at me wheneva I show up."

"He's hurting just like you are sweetie," Medda said. "I know it. He'll want to talk to you, I promise. But first you have to swallow your pride and go seek him out. He's not in a good place right now."

"Well I'm not exactly in a good place either," Dollface said pointedly. She walked away from Medda and leaned up against the table.

"Think about it," she said, walking over and leaning against the table next to Dollface. "He's suddenly in charge of this strike. He has the full weight of it all on his shoulders. He feels responsible for you kids. And then you all get in a big fight and Crutchie gets taken away. The police get called in. He feels like he can't show his face in that boarding house. He's given up hope and his only escape is running away to a place where he has no one." Dollface was quiet as she considered what Medda said.

"Just talk to him," Medda said, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "He'll listen, I promise." Medda began walking away, leavin Dollface alone with her thoughts, but stopped.

"And take the paint," she said. "Take what you need. Consider it my contribution to the cause." And with that, she left Dollface alone, making her feel a strange combination of guilt and shame.

* * *

**so I lied about updating this past Sunday. Sorry. But here's a new chapter finally! yay! hope the Spot/Dollface fluff at the beginning doesn't suck. And I for one loved writing about the boys making fun of Dollface like I could have written a whole chapter of them just making jokes at her. But yeah. Review it please!**


	14. Chapter 14

Dollface moped around the Playhouse for another five minutes before collecting the can of paint and a few paintbrushes. When she left, the sun was beginning to disappear, casting long shadows on everything. She walked back to the boarding house, contemplating what Medda said. When she arrived, she saw Racetrack standing outside the door. When he saw her, he ran up with an urgent look on his face.

"Hey, you gotta get outta here," he said. "Snyda's in there, lookin for you. I've been waitin out here for about ten minutes to try and catch you."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" she asked, handing him the paint supplies. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Conlon's bed might seem pretty cozy now, huh?" he joked. She punched him in the arm and walked away.

"I'll come back tonight around midnight," she said, walking backwards. "If he's still here around then, hang a sheet or towel or somethin out the window." He nodded and ran into the boarding house.

Dollface laughed a little as she found herself aimlessly wandering the streets, yet again. Her stomach began to growl and she reached into her pockets for money. They were empty, having not worked for the past four days. She was starting to see why some boys were giving into Pulitzer's bribes; an empty stomach was more important than a strike to some people. She stopped by the bakery, to see if there was any bad bread, but the baker had just given the last bread of the day away.

"Oh well," she shrugged, mumbling to herself as she walked back outside into the darkening streets. "Guess I'll just hafta wait until I go back to the boardin house."

Dollface tried to distract herself from the grumbling in her stomach by kicking a pebble. She watched as it bounced along the street, ran after it and kicked it again. It made a loud _ting_ as it hit against something metal. She looked up to see that the pebble had hit the looming gates of the refuge. Suddenly she didn't feel very hungry as she felt a large pit in her stomach. She swallowed and slowly approached the closed gates. She wrapped her sweaty hands around the cold iron bars and looked inside. Even though it wasn't very late yet, there was almost no activity. There weren't any carriages or policemen walking around. She didn't notice anyone moving past the windows of the bedrooms, even though the lights were still on.

She wished that Crutchie's room was facing the gates, then maybe she could somehow get him to come to the window. Even just a glimpse of his friendly face would make her feel a little better. But Crutchie was in a room facing the opposite direction and even if he wasn't, there would be no way to signal to him. The pit in her stomach deepened when she realized she hadn't seen him three days. Before she knew what she was doing, she started climbing the gates, desperate to see her brother. She reached the top, swung her leg over, and then froze, realizing what she was doing. The last time she snuck into the refuge she sprained her ankle and nearly got caught by Snyder. She remembered what she told the boys at Tibby's the day after the fight.

"I can't help Crutchie if I'm in there too," Dollface told them when they all thought she would do something to get put in the refuge alongside her brother. She remembered hearing how stupid they sounded when they told her that. What she was doing now was just as stupid, and no doubt, she would get caught. She looked up at the building that she knew housed Crutchie and sighed.

"I'll see ya soon big brotha," she said, with a small smile on her face. "I promise." She began climbing down the gates again and once she touched the pavement, ran away, without even looking back. She ran and ran, trying to force the thoughts of the refuge and Crutchie from her mind. Her still sprained ankle ached but she ignored it and kept running, not even knowing where she intended to go.

She found herself suddenly in front of the closed gates of the circulation center and stopped running. She put her hands on her knees, leaning over to catch her breath, and looked at the tall gates. Inside, the mess from the fight had been cleaned up and stacks of papers were piled up on the carts. She looked over to the chalkboard and read the piece of news that had been there for days, the news that informed the newsies of the price change, the news that started the strike, the news that they were all fighting against. Dollface was suddenly surging with the kind of passion she hadn't felt since Jack spoke on the first day of the strike. She swore to herself that they would win. She was going to fight until she didn't have any power left in her.

The noise of a sudden scuffle drew her from her thoughts and she whipped around to find the source. She backed up against a wall, hiding in the darkening shadows of the night, and watched as Jack was being led by the Delanceys through an alley next to the circulation center. Dollface noticed they both had a strong grip on Jack, though that didn't stop him from struggling.

"Let go of me," he grunted, trying to yank his arm out of Oscar's grasp but Oscar kicked him in the shin.

"Shut up, Cowboy," Morris said. "Mr. Pulitzer has been kind enough to accommodate you with a place to stay."

"The least you can do is act grateful for it," Oscar said. Dollface trailed after them as they went down the alley and out of sight. She peeked around the corner with her body still pressed up against the wall. She watched as Morris let go of Jack to unlock a door. When he opened it, Oscar shoved Jack through it. Dollface heard a crashing noise, perhaps as Jack had knocked over something or fallen down. The Delanceys laughed as they followed him into the room and slammed the door shut.

Dollface stood there, not knowing what to do. Should she go back to the refuge and get some of the boys to come and help Jack escape? Should she go in after him or just walk away and pretend it hadn't happened? Then she remembered what Medda had told her and that Jack needed someone. Dollface groaned internally, not really wanting to go in and talk to him, but knew she had to.

She heard the door open again and ran to duck behind a trashcan. She saw the Delanceys walk out of the alley and pass her. They were laughing darkly.

"Boy, I can't wait to polish off my brass knuckles," Morris was saying.

"Cowboy sure is gonna be surprised!" Oscar said as they both cackled. Dollface glared after them but made sure they were out of sight before moving. She walked back to the alley and over to the door. She expected it to be locked, so she was surprised when the doorknob turned. She took a deep breath and then pulled the door open.

The door led to a basement of some kind. It was dark and smelled very musty. Dollface was standing at the top of a metal set of stairs that looked over the small, dank room. There was one lone lamp in the corner that was turned on, dimly lighting the room. Dollface looked down and saw Jack sitting on a large metal object. He snapped his head up when he heard the door open and jumped up, looking ready to defend himself. He lowered his fists when he saw it was Dollface.

"What are you doin here?" he asked, sitting back down.

"I could ask you the same thing," Dollface said, smirking as she recalled that this was how their last conversation had started. "Ain't you supposed to be in Santa Fe?"

"If you came here to mock me-"

"I was walkin by," Dollface explained. "I saw the Delanceys throw ya in here. Thought they was workin for Snyda or somethin and had caught you."

"Nope, they ain't workin for Snyda," Jack said, still not looking at her. Dollface began walking down the stairs. Her boots clinked with each step and echoed in the empty room.

"Jack," she said, walking over to him. "What's goin on?" He didn't respond.

"Come on, Jack," she said pleadingly. "I don't wanna do this again. I don't wanna fight. I ain't gonna yell. I just wanna talk. Now tell me what's goin on?" He was silent for a few moments before he answered her.

"I'm workin for Pulitzer now," he said with a hint of shame in his voice.

"What?!" Dollface shouted, outraged. Jack jumped up.

"Shhhh!" he said. "Do ya want the Delanceys to come back or something?"

"You's workin for Pulitzer?" she asked him. He nodded.

"Why the hell are ya doin that?" He shrugged.

"Didn't really have much of a say in the matta," he said awkwardly. "It was eitha this or go to the refuge."

"You've been runnin from Snyda since you was fifteen," Dollface said. "And now you's tellin me that he caught you all of a sudden?" He began walking around the room pointlessly, not wanting to stand still anymore.

"I went in to talk to Pulitzer," Jack said. "I told the secretary and for some reason they let me in. I went in wit a plan. I was there for a reason and I was gonna make him listen but then Snyda came out and then the Delanceys was there."

"Whoa, slow down," she said as he continued milling about. "Why'd ya go into Pulitzer's office?"

"Afta you left the Playhouse yestaday, Davey, Les, and Katherine came in," he said. "They had ovaheard a bit of what you said to me. They convinced me to keep goin wit the strike."

"Oh, so you'll listen to three people ya met five days ago, but ya won't listen to ya best friend?" Dollface asked bitingly. Jack ignored her.

"Davey made me see that Pulitzer was scared," Jack said. "He was worried about us. Othawise he wouldn't have Snyda runnin all ova the place lookin for us. He wouldn't have a bunch of police waitin for a fight to start up. He wouldn't be payin a buncha boys twice their usual pay just to sell his papes."

"So I thought I'd go in and give Joe a piece of my mind," Jack continued, getting more riled up. "I thought maybe if I told him what we wanted, he'd negotiate. I thought he wouldn't be able to ignore a kid standin right in front of him. But he did. He pulled every string there was to beat me. He won."

"No he hasn't," Dollface said. "Not yet, this fight ain't ova."

"So Snyda came in and the Delanceys blocked the door," Jack said, ignoring her again. "I thought, alright, just a few thugs, nothing I can't handle. Then Katherine walks out. She's been in his back office the whole time. She's Pulitzer's daughta, Dollface. Katherine is a Pulitzer." Dollface kicked an empty tin can angrily at the wall.

"I knew there was somethin I didn't like about her," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "I told ya I didn't like her but you just kept googlin at her. She ain't that special. She's just a Pulitzer."

"So then Pulitzer knew he had me cornered," Jack said. "He had this smirk on his face like nothin was gonna stop him, certainly not some dumb kid like me. And then he laid me an ultimatum; he says work for me or go with Snyda to the refuge. I don't got no choice." He finished talking and they stood there in an awkward silence.

"I believes ya Jack," Dollface finally said. "I do." Jack looked at her and gave her a half-smile before sitting back down on the hunk of metal.

"Yeah well the othas ain't gonna be so understandin," Jack said, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'll explain it to 'em," Dollface said but Jack shook his head.

"Naw, I don't want their pity," he said. "Besides, it'll make it easier."

"Easier for what?" Dollface asked.

"Pulitzer told me that I gots to end this," Jack said. "He said if I don't end this strike in the next two days, I'm goin to the refuge."

"They can't honestly expect ya to do that," Dollface said. "He can't expect that they's gonna listen to ya."

"Why not?" Jack asked. "You's all seemed so keen to listen to me when I started this."

"_We_ started this, Jack," Dollface said, nudging him to scoot over so she could sit next to him. "This ain't your fight. It's all of ours."

"Well tomorrow it'll be ova," Jack said, sounding defeated. "Besides, all I gotta do is talk to our boardin house. No one else joined up like we said they would."

"Actually, they are," Dollface said proudly. "We got Brooklyn to agree to help us and then everyone else followed. We's havin a big meetin tomorrow at the circulation gates. It's the first time they's gonna see exactly who they's messin wit."

"Great," Jack said. "More people that'll hate me."

"I won't hate ya, Jack," she said softly. She placed her hand over his and gave him a friendly smile that he returned.

"You could neva hate me," he said snootily. It was then that Dollface noticed how close they were. Their arms were pressed up against each other and they kept knocking knees. She didn't know what was happening until it happened. They both slowly started closing the distance between them, leaning in until their lips met.

Then it seemed as if they both noticed what was happening at the same time and quickly pulled away. They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before looking away. They sat in an awkward minute of silence before Jack finally broke it.

"That was weird," he said.

"Oh boy was it," Dollface agreed.

"Like kissin a sista," Jack said, releasing a small laugh.

"Well now we know," she said.

"Neva speak of this?" He spit on his hand and then extended it.

"Agreed." Dollface did the same and shook his hand before jumping off their rather uncomfortable seat.

"So what are ya gonna do tomorrow?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"Don't know," he said. "Maybe I'll just show up and start sellin papes, that might give the boys and idea of what I'm thinkin or somethin."

"Ya sure ya don't want me to tell 'em that you ain't doin this of your own accords?" she asked. "I think they'd be more understandin if they knew."

"Naw, it's easier this way," Jack said. "It'll make it easier if they don't feel bad about havin to hate me."

"What if ya just don't try very hard to convince 'em?" Dollface suggested. "Just half-ass it and then they just won't listen."

"Naw, Pulitzer's got the Delanceys spyin on me," he said. "They'd just go snitch on me and I'd be in worse trouble."

"Well I guess our only choice is to win this strike in two days," Dollface concluded. "That way you won't go to the refuge and we won't hafta quit."

"You'll hafta do it without me then," Jack said, "Cuz wit the Delanceys on my tail and Pulitzer breathin down my neck, I can't do nothin."

"We got kids from all ova comin in tomorrow. Pulitzer can't say no to all of us," Dollface said convinced.

"Speakin of which, how'd you get everyone on board so fast?" he asked. "When we talked to Conlon, he was sure he wasn't gonna help us." Dollface blushed as Jack brought up the topic, making Jack catch on.

"Why's you blushin, huh?" he asked, standing up slowly. "Dollface don't eva blush, not about nothin."

"Shut up, Jack," she said, backing away from him

"So I _was_ right," he said triumphantly. "Conlon's got a thing for ya, don't he?"

"Naw he don't," she said, still backing away from him as he slowly walked toward her with a smirk on his face.

"You gots a thing for him too, don't ya?!" he asked excitedly, backing her up against the wall. "Huh? Don't lie to me, you's red as a tomato!"

"Jack, would ya shove off," she said, trying to push him away. He began poking her playfully.

"You like him, don't ya?" he asked as he tickled her sides.

"Jack stop!" she said through her laughter.

"What, did ya kiss?" he asked and then noticed the bruised teeth mark on her neck. "Oh ya did more than kissin didn't ya?" He tickled the mark on her neck as she tried swatting him away.

"Yes! We did," she shouted as he continued tickling her.

"Aw, no wonda ya lips tasted like slimy sardines," he said.

"Stop it, Jack!"

"Say it," he said. "Say it and I'll stop."

"Fine! I gots a thing for Conlon!" she shrieked out. Jack laughed and backed out of the way as Dollface aimed a kick at him.

"Just glad ya told me the truth," he shrugged, with a smirk on his face.

"Remind me to kill Crutchie for tellin you I was ticklish," she mumbled.

"Yeah, if he don't kill ya first for makin out with Conlon," Jack said. "Just let me know cuz I wanna be there when ya tell him. Hoah! I can just see the look on his face!" Jack gave a hearty laugh as Dollface smiled fondly at him. She quickly looked away when he noticed her looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothin," she said, kicking a pebble on the ground. "Ya just look happy is all."

"I feel happy," he said and then looked around, as if suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings. "Given the circumstance of course." His happy demeanor faded and he sat back down.

"Hey, we's gonna win," Dollface said. "Even if you have to sneak around Pulitzer and the Delanceys. Somehow, we's gonna win."

"Yeah well I sure hope ya right," he said. "Look, you should probably get goin. The boys are gonna startin wonderin where you's at." Dollface nodded and started walking up the stairs.

"Just don't tell 'em about any of this," he said. "Don't tell 'em about Pulitzer or me stayin here or havin to end the strike. And specially don't tell 'em-"

"Bout our kiss?" she said, completing his sentence. A small smile grew on his face.

"What kiss?" Dollface smiled at him and then left, walking out into the pitch black streets of the city and making a lonely walk back to the boarding house.

* * *

**uploaded a new chapter in honor of the Tony's! wooo! although, I was led on to believe the boys might be performing The World Will Know because they tweeted pictures of them in their bags (really only used in that number) and Corey Cott was there so they couldn't have done King of New York. (if you follow me on tumblr, you know all about this theory: .com) AND THEN ALL THEY DID WAS DANCE DOWN THE AISLE ONCE! *deep breaths*  
**

**so yeah. I loved this chapter cuz Jack and Dollface are finally on good terms! And I added in the kiss because there's a part of me that ships Dollface/Jack but I had to kinda prove to myself that they were just good friends. Wait for the next chapter, it picks up again (hopefully!)  
**


	15. Chapter 15

Dollface made it safely back to the boarding house and saw no towel or sheet hanging out of the window; the coast was clear. Despite it being midnight, the house was still swarming with activity. Even Kloppman was still awake. Everyone was painting signs and making banners. Racetrack and Kid Blink were sitting at the table talking when they saw Dollface and called her over.

"What's goin on, huh?" she asked, pulling up a chair. "Lights out was two hours ago."

"We's strategizin," Racetrack said, pushing over the pot of coffee. Dollface poured herself a cup as they told her what they planned for the next day.

"We's gotta wait until the gates is already open, othawise they won't let us in," Racetrack said. "So we's all meetin at Tibby's first."

"But how are we supposed to get word out to the otha newsies?" Dollface asked. "We told them to meet up at lunch time tomorrow, not in the morning."

"Don't worry," Racetrack said. "We sent some of the little kids out on some errands. They spread the word pretty fast."

"Anyways, so when we all gatha at Tibby's," Kid Blink said, "We's gonna wait until we see a few of those scabbas Pulitzer's payin off. Then we's gonna go in and block the gates so they can't leave."

"What about the Delanceys?" Dollface asked. "No way they's gonna let that happen."

"I think the Delanceys is gonna be easy to handle with nearly a hundred newsies," Kid Blink said. "We's finally got the numbas we need! We's gonna get them to take us seriously now."

"And this is the best part," Racetrack said, a huge smile on his face. "Davey came by when you was gone and told us that he talked to Jack. Convinced him to join back with us. Says Jack's all in now." Dollface's heart sank when she heard this. They thought Jack was going to help them tomorrow. She didn't want to think about what was going to happen when they found out he wasn't going to help.

"That's great!" she said, trying to show excitement. She had promised Jack she wouldn't tell them and she intended to keep that promise.

"Yeah, so Davey and him is gonna talk a little to those scabbas, try and get 'em to join our side," Kid Blink continued. "Then we's gonna talk, all us newsies, about what we want and what our demands are."

"Then if we comes to an agreement, we's gonna storm Pulitzer's office and demand to be seen," Racetrack said. "They can't say no to all of us. They just can't." Dollface took a sip of her coffee, trying not to show that she knew something else.

"This is great," Kid Blink said excitedly. "We's finally gonna win. We's gonna show them whose boss." Dollface nodded, suddenly not in the mood to talk about the strike.

"And we've all talked," Racetrack said, placing his hand on her arm and pulling her back into the conversation. "We's gonna make sure that releasin Crutchie from the refuge is the first thing on our list. We's gonna get him back if it's the last thing we do." Dollface took the last sip of her coffee and stood up.

"Well this sounds great guys," she said. "I'm pretty tired though so I'm gonna go to bed."

"Ya just drained a cup of coffee," Kid Blink said but Dollface shrugged.

"Guess it don't wake me up 'cept in the mornin," she said, walking towards the stairs. "You guys should go to bed soon too. Night." She walked up the stairs slowly but paused when she heard Racetrack and Kid Blink's voices again.

"What was that?" Kid Blink said.

"Don't know," Racetrack said. "Maybe she is just tired. Didn't seem very excited 'bout our plans, not even about gettin Crutchie out of the refuge."

"I think she knows somethin we don't," Kid Blink said.

"About Crutchie maybe?" Racetrack suggested. "Maybe he's worse than we all think and she don't want us to know."

"Naw, I think it's about Davey or Jack," Kid Blink said. "Did you see how she got all quiet when we told her Davey came by?"

"Yeah," Ractrack said. There was a moment of silence before they spoke again.

"Well, I guess we'll hafta find out tomorrow," Kid Blink said. Dollface continued walking upstairs when they turned the conversation back to the plans for the following day. So not only were they going to hate Jack for working for Pulitzer, they were going to hate her for not telling them. Dollface sulked over to her bed, kicking off her shoes as she climbed up the ladder and crawled under the blanket. She would need a lot of sleep if she was going to be there tomorrow when everyone found out she had lied.

* * *

"Alright, orda orda!" Spot Conlon's voice rang out as he stomped his cane hard on the table. The sound echoed through the very crowded Tibby's as everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to Spot, Racetrack, and Davey, who were standing on a table above everyone.

"Ok, so we all knows why we're here," Spot said. "We's here cuz we's got a bone to pick with Mr. Joseph Pulitzer."

"Well we knows that ain't the _only_ reason you's here, Spot," Specs said, looking over at Dollface. Spot rolled his eyes as the room erupted into catcalls and laughter. Dollface stretched her leg over and kicked Specs's chair over, knocking him to the floor.

"As I was sayin, we's here cuz we gots to talk 'bout this strike," Spot said. "We's here so we can show them we ain't kiddin around. We's serious. We's gonna show them that they ain't got the power anymores."

"But first, we all need to come up with a list of demands," Davey shouted over a few cheers. "When we win this thing, we need to know exactly what it is we want."

"Crutchie gets released," Racetrack said. "We decided that last night."

"Ok that's good. Les, write that down," Davey said, pointing to Les. Les was sitting at the end of the table they were standing on and had a paper and pencil and was writing what Racetrack had said.

"The papes go back to the old price," said a boy from Richmond. "Fifty cents per hundred."

"Can't we do betta than that?" someone asked, earning some shouts of agreement. Spot banged his cane on the table again.

"Hey, we gotta act maturely 'bout this," Spot said. "No fightin, ya hear?"

"So you thinks we can do betta than fifty cents per pape?" Racetrack asked. A few people shouted out in response but Racetrack held up his hand to quiet them.

"Well somethin tells me Pulitzer won't be so kind," he said. "We's already askin to lowa the price, I don't think we can go less than fifty cents."

"What if we demand that they give us our money back for papers we don't sell?" Davey proposed. "We'd buy more papers if we didn't think we'd be wasting money and the more papers we buy, the more we could sell." Les began writing down Davey's idea as people started mumbling in agreement.

"Alright, what else do we got?" Spot asked. It was quiet for a moment as everyone started thinking. Then Dollface got an idea.

"Snyda stops chasin afta me and Crutchie," she said. "Our fatha's in jail now and we ain't got no motha. He don't got no reason to be chasin us anymores."

"Fair enough," Davey said, as he gestured for Les to write it down. "What else?"

"We should get betta food and blankets and stuff for the boardin house," Mush said. "It's kinda hard to sell papes on an empty stomach and a bad night's sleep." Les wrote this down too. Just then, they heard the circulation bell ring down the street. The gates were most likely being opened then.

"This is a good start," Davey said. "But we have to go to the circulation center now. Remember, if there are other newsies there, do not fight them! We have to talk to them and get them to join us. Pulitzer won't take us seriously if we don't stand together."

"Alright, let's do this!" Spot shouted, thrusting his cane into the air. Everyone cheered as they jumped up out of their seats and ran out the door.

When Dollface saw everyone flowing out into the streets, she realized how amazing it was that they were able to all fit into Tibby's. There had to be at least a hundred boys there. If this didn't get Pulitzer's attention, nothing would. Dollface ran to the front of the crowd to walk with Spot, Davey, and Racetrack.

"So what exactly is we gonna do when we gets there?" she asked.

"Well Jack said he's meet us there," Davey said. "We're hoping he'll talk to everyone. Then we were hoping to go right out front of Pulitzer's office. He can't possibly ignore all of us." Dollface bit her lip nervously. She was not looking forward to everyone finding out that Jack was no longer fighting on their side.

She looked down when she felt something brush against her hand. It was Spot's hand. He didn't take her hand in his, he wasn't that kind of a person, but Dollface recognized the meaning behind the simple physical contact. She looked at him and received a friendly smile.

"We's gonna do this," he said encouragingly. "Don't be nervous."

"I ain't nervous," she lied.

"Course you ain't," Spot said haughtily. "Not when you's got me around." She laughed and gave him a friendly punch on the arm.

Suddenly they stopped. They had arrived at the gates. They all looked around at each other, unsure of what they were doing, but marched on anyway. When they walked through the gates, they thrust their signs into the air, cheering and chanting loudly.

"Newsies we are here today!" Spot shouted.

"Newsies we are here today!" the crowd behind him echoed.

"Tell 'em Brooklyn's here to stay!"

"Tell 'em Brooklyn's here to stay!"

"We are Brooklyn! We are newsies!"

"We are newsies! We are newsies!" The crowd struck up a cheer and kept chanting as they marched cheerfully into the circulation center. The boys who were standing in line waiting to buy papers backed away and clumped together, afraid of what might happen to them. Jack was standing in front of Wiesel's office and smiled slightly as he saw them come marching through the gates but Dollface could see how conflicted he felt.

"Alright! Alright!" Spot shouted. He rapped his cane up against a fire escape to gain attention. "Get a seat, find a spot and listen up!" They waited as the newsies found a place to get settled, either sitting on the ground, leaning up agaist a wall, or standing on the surrounded fire escapes.

"Ok we gots to get down to business now," Spot said once the noise was settling down. "And here we got _the_ Jack Kelly! Everyone pay attention, he's got stuff to say!" Spot stepped aside, taking a place next to Dollface standing by the wall, and let Jack stand in the center of the crowd. Everyone cheered as Jack looked around at all the newsies that had gathered there. Dollface felt her palms go sweaty as she stood there, nervously waiting for the chaos to erupt.

"Alright, we's all here cuz we decided we ain't takin anymore shit," Jack said, looking around to different spots in the crowd. "Not from Pulitzer or Hearst or anyone else." This was followed by cheers as Jack's triumphant expression changed to a more somber one.

"But we needs to consider somethin first," Jack said once the cheers had died down. "We have to think of the consequences of this strike. We's already gotten into enough trouble as it is, with Snyda and the police and the scabbas." The reactions of the crowd began to change. They now wore confused expressions and began whispering to each other.

"What's he doin, huh?" Spot asked, leaning over and whispering in Dollface's ear. She just shrugged, not wanting to watch what was happening.

"Listen boys!" Jack shouted, regaining everyone's attention. "We's in ova our heads. We ain't dealin with Wiesel and the Delanceys! We's dealin with the big bosses of New York City and they don't got no time to listen to a bunch of poor kids who don't got a penny to their name." Jack rushed forward with his speech before the shouts of protest and boos overpowered him.

"What's to stop Pulitzer from jackin up the price again? What happens if we go back to work for him and he raises prices again," Jack said. "I can promise you that this first jack up ain't gonna be the last and he won't stop until he's the richest man in New York City. The reasonable thing to do is to go back and work for him now before we anger him more! He won't be willin to listen to us…" Jack's voice was drowned out by angry shouts from the crowd.

"This is the truth!" Jack yelled over the shouts. "If we don't work, we don't eat! We don't got clothes to wear or a place to stay anymores!"

"This is enough," Dollface heard Spot mumble as he briskly walked over to Jack. He did not look like the proud and triumphant Spot from a few minutes ago. His inner Brooklyn was coming out and it was not going to be good.

"What's this about?" Spot said, confronting Jack. "The only reason I joined this strike is cuz I was told you was on our side. What, changed your mind?"

"Now I have spoken with Mr. Pulitzer," Jack said, backing away from Spot. "And he has said that if we end the strike now, he won't raise the prices anymore. Alls we gotta do is go back to work." Jack then bent down and picked up a newboy bag that already had papers in it. He silently slipped it over his shoulder as he was booed.

"Jack, what happened to standing up for ourselves?" Davey asked as he ran over to meet him. "What about finally taking a stand and saying no for once in our lives?"

"So this is what it takes for ya to quit?" Spot said harshly. "One bad fight with some scabbas and a little extra money on the side? I shoulda known. You Manhattan newsies, always backing down."

"I ain't backing down," Jack said defensively. "I'm just smart enough to realize when we's figthin a losin battle."

"What about all those tings you said at the docks a few days ago, huh?" Spot shouted, getting in his face. "About bein able to improve our lives and havin money in our pockets and food in our stomachs!"

"Well things change, Conlon!" Jack shouted back. Dollface could see the pressure of the situation getting to him. She stepped up off the wall and cautiously walked over to the confrontation between Jack and Spot.

"So do your friends, huh? And your opinions and beliefs? And your loyalties too, don't they," Spot said through his teeth. "Let's be honest. This was neva about us newsies. This was neva about changin things. Hell, this was neva about sixty cents per hundred, was it? It was 'bout you and getting ya name in the pape and risin to fame and becomin leader and then you's gonna up and leave us and go to your stupid Santa Fe and watch us crash and burn." Dollface reached out and tried to pull Spot away from Jack but he yanked his arm out of her grasp.

"My loyalties is still with the newsies," Jack said. "That's why I'm tellin you all to drop this strike right now! Things will only get worse if we continue!"

"Oh you can bet they's gonna get worse!" Spot shouted as he punched Jack in the jaw. Jack staggered back, rubbing his jaw, as Dollface ran forward and grabbed Spot to keep him from hitting Jack again.

"Spot, calm down," she said quietly, just so he could hear it. "This ain't worth it." Jack spit out some blood before wiping his mouth and turning back to the crowd.

"Please! I'm beggin yous to listen to reason!" he shouted, almost pleadingly. Though she was still focused on holding back Spot, Dollface could hear the desperation in his voice. "This is what's best for all of us! Just put down your signs and peacefully come back to work."

"I ain't doin anything peacefully," Spot shouted as he shoved Dollface aside and lunged at Jack. Racetrack and Davey jumped forward and grabbed Spot before he could do anything. Jack ran out of the way and weaved in and out of the crowd toward the gate but stopped at Spot's words.

"You's a liar, Jack Kelly!" he said, fighting against Davey and Racetrack's hold on him. "You's a no good, yellow, rat bastard, coward!" Those near the gates tried to block Jack's path as he turned around to run away.

"Jack! Don't go!" Les came running out of the crowd and grabbed Jack's sleeve. Jack yanked his arm away and shoved Les away before pushing people out of the way and running out of the circulation center.

"Yeah you betta run! You betta! If I get my hands on you!" Spot was still yelling. He had wrestled away from Racetrack and Davey. He was livid. He ran over and furiously punched the brick wall before placing his hands on the wall, leaning up against it. Dollface walked over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She felt himself relax slightly at her touch.

"Thanks," he mumbled, with his back still to her. Then they heard the office door creak open as Wiesel stepped out.

"If you ain't sellin papes, then get outta here!" he shouted. "Or else I'm callin the refuge!" Dollface turned around and face the stunned newsies.

"Alright! Everyone go to Medda's!" she shouted. "We'll talk more there, ok? I'll be there in a few minutes but go ahead and get started without me. Just get outta here." She turned back to Spot, who still had his back to everyone, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Hey, just relax," she said. "Go ahead to Medda's and just try not to punch anymore walls. There's something I gotta do, alright?" He nodded silently as she walked out the gates and disappeared from the crowd, turning down the street and looking around the streets for Jack. She spent the next thirty minutes walking around in the baking sun, going hoarse from calling out his name and getting too many strange looks to count. The longer she looked, the more frustrated she got and the less she actually wanted to find him.

"Dammit, Jack," she muttered to herself. "Why the hell do ya gotta be so damn stubborn?" Then she felt something hit her head. She looked down and saw it was a balled up piece of paper. She picked it up and uncrumpled it. "Look up," it said. She looked up, just as it said, and saw Jack peeking at her over the edge of a building.

"What the hell is you doin up there?!" she shouted.

"Shut up!" he said, hushing her. "Just come up the fire escape in that alley." Dollface walked around the corner, down the alley, and climbed up the ladder.

"What are you doin?" she asked when she finally came face to face with him.

"Didn't feel much like sellin papes," he shrugged. "Had to lose the Delanceys though, they's still on my tail. That's why I came up here."

"Jack, you ok?" she asked. He was slumped over the edge of the wall and was looking down at the streets. He looked utterly defeated.

"Course I ain't ok," he said. "Not only does my jaw feel like its broken, be sure to thank ya boyfriend for that one, but everyone hates my guts, we's nowhere near to endin the strike, and if I don't end it by tomorrow then I'm goin to the refuge."

"Would ya quit griping?" she asked. "We's gonna figure somethin out, you'll see."

"Naw we won't," Jack said, turning to face her. "This strike ain't neva gonna end, no one's eva gonna listen to a word I sat, and I'm gonna end up sittin on the bunk next to Crutchie." Dollface felt like he had stuck a knife in her belly at the mention of Crutchie and she must have shown it.

"Sorry," Jack mumbled, realizing what he said. "Low blow."

"Look, maybe if you just tells everyone about how you got no choice, they'll listen," Dollface said, trying to sound reasonable. "Just tell 'em and-"

"God dammit, Doll!" he suddenly exploded. "You don't get it! I don't want them to know that I got stuck in Pulitzer's trap and that he's usin me! Pulitzer thinks this is a game and I'm just a piece in his chess set!"

"Cowboy, don't think of it-" Dollface started to say but was cut off by another of Jack's explosions of anger.

"I don't wanna do this!" he shouted, ripping off his bag and throwing it on the ground, sending the papers in it flying. "If it was my choice, I wouldn't be doin none of this, I'd just keep goin and ignore Pulitzer but he's just gonna hurt you kids!"

"What is you talkin about?" she asked confused. Jack didn't say anything but kicked a pebble on the roof.

"He threatened to shut down the boardin house," he said finally. "It ain't just my skin Pulitzer's afta. It's all of ours."

"That house is the only home for most of the boys," Jack continued, calming down a little. "You kids don't got nowhere else to go and I would neva be able to live with myself if I knew it closed down on account of me."

"Why didn't you just tell me in the first place?" Dollface asked.

"I didn't want you to worry," he said. "You's already got enough to worry about, what with Crutchie in the refuge and whateva the hell's goin on wit you and Spot and Snyda afta you too."

"Jack, you's the person I've been the most worried about," she said, almost laughing in exasperation. "All I wants to do is help ya but I can't if ya won't let me." Jack said nothing but walked over to the edge of the building and sat on top of the small wall.

"I don't want the strike to lose," he said. "I want all you guys to win. But I can't help ya anymore. You's on ya own. I'm outta ideas." Neither of them said anything for a while. Finally, when Dollface could no longer stand doing nothing, she knelt down and began picking up the papers that fell out of Jack's bag.

"Dollface, no don't-" he said suddenly, jumping up when he saw her picking them up. She looked down at what was in her hands and saw that they weren't newspapers; they were Jack's drawings.

"Jack, what is this?" she asked, picking up more papers and moving away from Jack, who was frantically trying to grab them from her hands.

"They're nothing, just stuff I drew some nights," he said, stretching out his arms to get his papers.

"It's… it's the refuge, ain't it?" Dollface said, finally recognizing what she was looking at. It looked all too familiar. She could still hear the scurry of the rats from her visit with Crutchie several days ago. She rifled through a few of them and saw that Jack had drawn pictures of seven or eight boys sharing one bed. And rats in the corners. And dust and grime on the windows. And the meager portions they had for meals. And the last drawing was the most brutal; it was a picture of Snyder, shouting at a boy and raising his cane above him.

"Jack, you gotta show these to Pulitzer," she said, suddenly thinking of an idea. "Show Pulitzer the kinda conditions these kids is livin in and maybe he'll give us more attention, more sympathy."

"He ain't gonna believe these drawings is real," Jack said, once again reaching for the drawings. She stretched out her arms behind her back, keeping them away from him.

"Jack, listen to me. You might be able to end the strike afta all," she said. "It'll just end in our favor! We could win."

"I ain't showin those pictures," Jack said. "They's mine."

"That's what make 'em real though!" she shouted in his face. She could have slapped him out of frustration. "It's a first-hand account of the abuse that the children of this city experience every day! And we could win with 'em and suddenly you's too shy to use 'em?" Jack opened his mouth but was interrupted by the clearing of a throat. They jumped, startled at the presence of another person, but then relaxed, seeing it was only Katherine.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was walking by when I heard voices. I recognized Jack's voice and thought I'd see what the fuss was about. I can come back later."

"No, it's alright," Dollface said to Katherine. She bent down and stuffed the papers into Jack's bag and threw it at Jack's face. "Jack, just think about it."

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt? Really, I can come back," Katherine said, moving back towards the ladder.

"No, it's alright, Miss Plumber" Dollface said, walking to the ladder and stepping onto it. "I'll leave you two alone." She noticed as she began climbing down that the annoyed feeling she associated with Katherine was not there.

* * *

**I was noticing that the chapters have been a bit on the short side so hopefully this one is a little better. And by a little better, I mean incredibly long. Sorry. So it's currently 4:48AM and I just got back from my school's all night grad party that we have at the YMCA and there was a group hypnotist. I volunteered and me and like eight or so other kids got put in this weird like sleepwalking kind of trance and did weird shit. Apparently I flipped the ENTIRE audience off. It was super cool though. But 45 minutes of that hypnosis in that trance is equivalent to a full night's sleep. So I'm here at 4:49AM and wide awake. So here's a new chapter. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS! They make me feel happy of myself (anyone seen that YouTube video? with the kid learning to ride his bike?)  
**


	16. Chapter 16

By the time Dollface arrived at the Playhouse, she saw some boys leaving angrily. She walked in and saw Racetrack and Davey standing on the stage, trying to calm everyone down. She saw Spot sitting in an audience seat off to the side and sat down next to him.

"What's goin on?" she asked him.

"Everyone's talkin 'bout quittin," he said rather shortly, keeping his stare focused on Davey and Racetrack. He still looked outraged from that morning. "Race made me sit down afta what happened, wouldn't let me talk to nobody. Says I gots to calm down."

"You do," she said, placing her hand on top of his. He quickly moved his away and crossed his arms. "Look, I ain't the one you's mad at. Just sit here and don't say nothin."

"Why should we keep goin?" a kid in the center of the room shouted out as Dollface turned her attention to Racetrack and Davey. "If Jack ain't gonna keep fightin, we shouldn't neither!"

"Jack is one person!" Davey shouted out. "Sure, he was our leader but he's made it clear he's not working for us. But we can't just give up! Then we'd be doing exactly what Pulitzer wants us to do."

"It's obvious that Pulitzer ain't takin us seriously," Boot said. "He ain't ever gonna take us seriously so we might as well go back to work. Make some kinda money outta this."

"We haven't worked in five days," someone said. "That means I haven't eaten in four."

"None of us has worked in five days!" Racetrack said. "But we have to stay together. We can't back down now, we's almost there!"

"I can't take none of this," Spot mumbled, standing up. Dollface put her feet up on the seat in front of her, blocking his path.

"Spot, sit," she said sternly. He leaped over her legs and turned around to her.

"I ain't no dog," he said, running to the back of the house and out the door. The room got quiet as everyone watched him leave.

"If Conlon's leavin, then so am I," said some Brooklyn newsie followed by shouts of agreement.

"Don't go!" Dollface said, walking over to them. "Just sit and don't go. I'll go talk to him, he's just pissed off 'bout this mornin."

"We's all pretty pissed off," someone mumbled. Dollface ignored them as she ran out of the room. She stopped on the street, looking around, and heard a clatter to her left. She followed the noise and found Spot in an alley, who had just knocked over a trashcan.

"Spot, would ya stop it?" she said, getting slightly annoyed with his attitude. "Yeah, this mornin was a bit of a setback but we can recova."

"It ain't that," he grumbled. "I'm sorry, I just… I just get angry sometimes."

"Yeah, I can see that," Dollface said as she picked up the trashcan he had knocked over. In it, she saw someone had thrown away one of their strike banners.

"I can't control it, ok? I hate it," he said. "I just get so mad sometimes and I can't control what I do. It's like nothing else mattas except who I'm mad at or why I'm mad. And I try to control it but I can't!" He kicked a trashcan lid and turned to face Dollface.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to not be able to control what you do?" he shouted frustrated. "Somethin else takes ova and I turn into a monster and I just _hate_ Kelly so much right now! God dammit! He's a fucking fink and he just left us! This is why I neva join anythin! Just stick to myself and nothin eva goes wrong! Then I follow Jack and he just leads us off a cliff and we's stuck-"

Dollface interrupted his angry rant by smashing her mouth against his. She calmed him down, slowly moving her lips against his, and felt him release a sigh into her mouth. He deepened the kiss as she moved her fingers through his hair. She pulled her mouth away but pressed her forehead against his.

"It's just me," she said quietly. "It's just me, no one else." She felt his warm breath against her cheek as he slowed down his breathing.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I can't… I try but…"

"Shhhh," she said soothingly, rubbing her hand on the back of his neck. She felt his hands move to her waist and pull her closer to his body. She wrapped her arms around him and he reciprocated by pulling her into a tight embrace. He buried his head into her neck, still calming down. She listened as the pounding in his chest slowed down and felt the tension in his shoulders release. After a few minutes of holding each other, Spot pulled away and stepped back from Dollface.

"Sorry, I don't normally freak out like that," he said slightly abashed. "I'll try not to lose it next time."

"It's ok to be angry, Spot," Dollface said. "We's all angry. But we's gonna get through this, alright?"

"Yeah, people keep sayin it but I don't see how," Spot said, slumping up against the wall.

"I don't know how eitha," Dollface admitted. "But if we stick togetha, we'll figure it out." She reached forward to grab his hands but he winced and pulled his right hand away from her.

"Ouch, don't do that," he said, lightly shaking his hand. Dollface carefully took it in her hands and saw that his hand was completely bruised and dried blood covered his knuckles.

"What'd you do?" she asked, turning it over to see if it was any worse on his palm.

"Had a rough encounta with a wall, remember?" he said, with a small smile. Dollface dropped his hand and looked up at him.

"Come on, let's go back to the boardin house," she said. "I'll clean ya up and then we'll go get somethin to eat somewheres, alright?"

"I ain't goin to no boardin house," he protested stubbornly.

"It ain't bad," she said, trying to pull him off the wall. "Besides, no one's there right now, it ain't even past two o'clock."

"Nope, not goin," he said, crossing his arms. "And there's nothin you can do to get me to go." She leaned over and kissed him, sneaking her tongue in his mouth slightly, but teasingly pulled away when she felt him kissing back. He raised an eyebrow at her and then stood up off the wall.

"Alright, let's go then," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the alley and down the street together.

* * *

"Ow! Would ya stop it?" Spot shouted out for the fourth time. Dollface smirked. They were sitting on the counter of the sinks in the bathroom as Dollface attempted to clean Spot's hand. But he was making it increasingly more difficult to do so.

"Ya baby, it's just water and a little bit of alcohol," she said, pouring more on his battered hand. He yanked his hand away from her.

"It stings!" he cried out, gently blowing on it. Dollface rolled her eyes and took a sip of the rum Kloppman had leant them to clean Spot's hand.

"Gimme that," Spot said, snatching the bottle out of her hand and taking a sip himself. Dollface went to take it back but he kept it out of reach.

"No way is you getting this back," he said, taking another sip.

"Spot, come on," she said. "We gotta clean ya hand. Kloppman said if we don't, it could get infected and then you'd just get sick and your hand would fall off."

"My hand ain't gonna fall off," he said. "You's makin that up."

"No I ain't," she said. "It's gonna get infected and turn green and then we's gonna have to cut it off cuz it looks so ugly."

"Oh, excuse me, _docta_," he said sardonically. "Didn't know you knew so much 'bout hands."

"Spot, just give it back-" She reached for the bottle again but his lips got in the way. He had been eager to go back to kissing since their kiss in the alley but Dollface had insisted on fixing his hand. He tried to sneak his tongue into her mouth, like she had done earlier, but she pushed him away.

"The soona we fix ya hand, the soona we can come back to this," she said, giving him a look. He immediately presented his hand and gave her back the bottle of rum.

"I don't even think the rum's doin anythin," Spot said, as Dollface gently wiped away the dried blood. "Don't know why he gave it to us.

"Alcohol's supposed to kill germs," she said, glancing up at him. "Rum was all Kloppman had. He keeps his own stash so we don't get into it. But we's broken into it on a few rare occasions." She picked up the bottle again and took another sip.

"Dollface, you break into Kloppman's liquor cabinet?" Spot said, as if he were shocked at hearing this. "You's a bad goil!" Dollface responded by pouring more alcohol onto his hand. She laughed slightly as he winced.

"Ya wimp," she muttered under her breath. She finished wiping off his hand and patted it dry with another cloth. She then wrapped it up using some bandages Kloppman gave her and tied the ends in a knot.

"Finally," he said in exasperation as he grabbed her and pulled her into him. "Now where was we?" He leaned in and kissed her as she wrapped her arms around him. She felt his hands go to her waist, his hands grasping at the fabric of her shirt as he forced her mouth open and flitted his tongue against hers. He moved his hand to her leg and moved it to wrap it around his waist but in the process, they both fell off the counter and landed in a tangled heap on the floor.

"Smooth, Conlon," Dollface said, looking up at him. She burst into laughter when she saw his grouchy expression.

"Shut up," he said, pressing his mouth to hers. Their legs wrapped together as the kiss deepened. The kissing grew more intense and passionate as Spot moved from her lips to her neck to her collarbone. He paused for a second when he reached the bite mark he had left a few days ago.

"Whoops," he said in between kisses. "Sorry… 'bout… that…"

"You should be," Dollface panted, catching her breath. "Got too much shit about that."

"Why ya gotta be in guy clothes?" Spot groaned as he longed to touch the skin on her waist but her shirt was under suspenders and tucked into her trousers. He moved to take off her suspenders as Dollface untucked her shirt. She got goose bumps as his cold, rough hands touched the bare skin under her shirt. He placed one hand on her slim hip and another on her upper back as he moved back up to kiss her mouth. Dollface was grabbing at his shirt, now desperate to touch him too. Sensing this, Spot sat up, ripped off his vest and slipped off his suspenders. Dollface fumbled her fingers over the buttons on his shirt and finally got it off his body.

Dollface bit her lip as she looked at his tanned and muscular chest. She reached up a finger and traced a line down the center from his neck to the top of his pants. She felt him shiver at the touch as he bent back down to continue kissing her. This time, it was Dollface's turn to leave a few marks on his skin. She kissed down his neck and chest, biting and sucking hard, wanting him to be humiliated like she had been.

"Easy does it," Spot said, pushing her away.

"Hey, it's payback time," she said. Spot smiled slightly before leaning down and continuing their kiss. Dollface kept one hand on his neck and one hand on his back. She accidentally scratched him when he unexpectedly bit her lip. He let out a small moan at the touch of her fingernails on his skin.

His hand began to snake up her shirt until it came to her breast. He found that she wasn't wearing a corset but had wrapped them in a strip of fabric. He pushed the fabric up slightly and gently rubbed his thumb on the underside of her breast. She clawed his back again at the touch of his tender thumb.

"So it _is_ true!"

Spot pulled away abruptly and looked at Dollface in horror. The boys had come back early that day.

"Didn't believe it 'til now!" Racetrack said over the whistles and laughter. Dollface pushed Spot off of her and sat up, readjusting the fabric loosely binding her breasts and tucking her shirt back into her pants.

"Shut up, would ya," Spot said, standing up. He offered his hand to Dollface, who took it and stood up. She slipped her suspenders back on and turned to face the group of immature boys.

"Hey Conlon, you got something on your chest," Mush said smartly. Spot looked down and saw two red teeth marks that Dollface had left.

"Sorry," she mouthed to him as he bent over to pick up his shirt. He slipped it on it his arms and began buttoning his shirt, ignoring the gawking boys.

"Would ya grow up," Dollface said, trying to leave the room but Romeo blocked her path.

"I think we gots to give ya a stern talkin to young lady," he said, crossing his arms. "It's one thing to do that in Brooklyn territory, but another to bring the Brooklyn here."

"Shove off," Spot said bitterly, snatching his vest off the ground and slipping it on. He grabbed Dollface's hand and pushed Romeo out of the way. "Let's go eat." Dollface could tell he was slightly embarrassed but didn't look too bothered by the other boys. He confidently draped his arm over Dollface's shoulders and led them towards the door.

"Hey, Conlon! You guys goin to anotha alley somewheres?" Romeo shouted out. Spot stopped and spun around. Dollface grabbed his arm, thinking he was going to punch someone again, but he gave her a reassuring look and she let go.

"Hey, let me tell you guys something," he said, speaking to the crowd of guffawing boys. "I have the best, and only, piece of goil newsie there is. It took me two days to do what none of yous did in four years." That shut them up. Spot snorted as he turned around, in a much better mood, and walked out of the room with Dollface, triumphant in winning the battle against the other newsies.

* * *

Spot took Dollface back to Brooklyn for the rest of the day. After an hour of scowering the streets, begging, and pick-pocketing a few people, they had enough money to buy a sandwich at the restaurant down the street. They spent a pleasant afternoon sitting at a table by a window, eating their food and watching people walk by outside. After they had finished eating, Spot dragged Dollface down to the docks.

"Come on!" he begged, as he began undressing. "You gots to be hot, it's been blazing all day."

"Spot, no way," she said. "That water is disgusting lookin. Besides, I ain't swimming with you naked."

"I'll keep my drawers on," he said, slipping his pants off but keeping his knickers on. "Come on, just a quick swim."

"Spot, hell no," she said firmly. He got in her face and started poking her arms.

"Come on, come on, come on," he repeated annoyingly until Dollface laughed.

"Fine!" she shouted in exasperation.

"Woo!" he said, as he dove into the water, splashing her slightly. Dollface stripped down to the piece of fabric over her breasts and knickers and dove in next to Spot. The water was freezing but refreshing after walking around the city all day in the sun. Dollface resurfaced and took in a breath of air.

"Told ya this was a good idea," Spot said, pompously.

"Shut up," Dollface said, splashing him with water. He spit water out of his mouth and began splashing Dollface but didn't stop.

"Geez, you's like a little kid," she said, turning her head away to keep the water from splashing in her eyes. "What do I see in you, again?" Spot stopped splashing her and floated on his back towards her.

"I'm damn good lookin," he said, putting his arms under his head. Dollface rolled her eyes at him. "And I gots a great poisonality!"

"Poisonality my ass," Dollface said, ducking underwater to do a back flip. When she came up, Spot was looking at her strangely.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin," he said, shaking his head, an embarrassed smile on his face.

"No really, what?" she asked, wanting to know what he was thinking. He hesitated before answering.

"I was just thinkin how lucky I am that I got you," he said shyly.

"Why? I ain't nothin special," Dollface muttered.

"Yeah you is," Spot said, swimming over to her. "You ain't like all these otha goils, runnin around with their petticoats in a knot. They's all so goily and stupid."

"And a lot prettier than me," Dollface said matter of factly. She didn't seem to be putting herself down or fishing for compliments; she stated it as if it was true but didn't bother her at all.

"Naw they ain't," Spot said, putting his hands on her waist and pulling her towards him. "You's pretty damn pretty. And you ain't afraid to do nothin neitha. I bet if you saw a spida, you'd just stomp on wit ya shoe, not run away screamin. And you's tough as nails too. You don't give up on anythin or anyone."

"You ain't givin up on this strike," Spot continued as Dollface draped her arms over his shoulders. "You ain't givin up on Jack or Crutchie."

"And I ain't givin up on you," she said, leaning in to kiss him. Their lips had just barely touched when they were interrupted by running footsteps and the voice of one of Spot's friends.

"Hey Spot! We just- oh geez, sorry," he said, when he saw that they had been kissing. "Ya want me to leave?"

"Naw," Spot said, facing the boy. "What is it?"

"We just ran into some kid from the Manhattan area," he said. "He said to tell you and the goil you's with that it's important to be in Manhattan tonight."

"What'd the kid look like?" Dollface asked.

"Real tall, brown hair, wore a blue shirt," the boy said, trying to recall more information. "Oh and he was with some goil, a reporta I think."

"That's Jack!" Dollface said excitedly but noticed Spot begin to scowl.

"Yeah well he said to be in Manhattan at the boardin house by about ten or eleven tonight," the boy told her. "And don't tell anyone of the otha boys about this."

"That was Jack Kelly you idiot!" Spot shouted at the boy. "Don't you know nothin? He's the one who led the strike off a cliff! He's workin for Pulitzer!"

"Sorry, Spot!" the boy said defensively. "I didn't make it to the meetin this morning, I didn't know!"

"Dammit, Kansas!" Spot said, angrily splashing the water. "Don't you know anythin!"

"Just deliverin the message," Kansas said, backing away. "Calm down and be in Manhattan tonight, ok?" The kid ran off before Spot could yell at him again.

"So he just thinks he can walk off like that and then send my boys with messages to me?" Spot said irritably. "He can't just orda us around afta this morning! Who does he think he is, the govna?"

"Spot, relax," Dollface said soothingly. She placed her arms around him and pulled him back into the position they had been in before the boy interrupted them.

"If I know Jack, he's got a plan," she said, staring into his piercing blue eyes. "And it's a good plan, I know it. So let's just do what he says and be there tonight."

"Where the hell am I supposed to stay?" Spot asked exasperated. Dollface lightly kissed him and pulled away with a wily look on her face.

"Oh, I guess that'll work," he shrugged. "But won't Kloppman get mad? And besides there ain't any extra beds to-"

"Just stop talking," Dollface said, stopping his words with her mouth, and she heard him chuckle. She wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling weightless in the water, and let him walk them under the dock, away from any other possible interruptions.

* * *

**so this chapter was very Spot/Dollface heavy, well basically all Spot/Dollface. I liked that this chapter showed a lot of different aspects to their relationship. I always liked the idea that Spot had some anger management issues and Dollface would be the one to diffuse him. And then there's the heavier part of their relationship, I've never really written anything like that so I hope it didn't suck. Also there's that small part that they don't do anything in front of the other newsies, not just because they'd get made fun of or anything but because they're not the kind of people to make out with each other in front of other people; almost like they both think that if someone saw them kissing that they'd think less of them. And then the more playful, friendly part that shows they're kids and friends and stuff. So yeah. I guess I liked the Spot/Dollface relationship more than I thought...  
**

**Well I hope you liked this chapter! If you didn't, leave a comment and let me know what I can improve upon. If you did, leave a comment and let me know what you liked! ****(Sidenote: when writing the part where Dollface is cleaning and fixing his hand, I pictured the GIF of Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes in _Bonnie and Clyde_ where Bonnie is trying to get the bullet out of Clyde's shoulder and he acts all tough and then she pours alcohol on it and he freaks out and then she takes a swig from the bottle... if you know what GIF I'm talking about then hats off to you and can we be best friends?)**


	17. Chapter 17

So there they were, still slightly wet from their swim earlier that day, but there just the same. Spot and Dollface arrived at the boarding house a few minutes after dinner had started. They didn't tell anyone about the message Jack sent them but sat down to eat. Spot told everyone he was only there because he wanted to walk Dollface back. Lucky for them, it began storming a few minutes after their arrival and Kloppman told Spot he could stay the night to avoid the storm.

"Thank ya, Mr. Kloppman," he said cordially. "That's very nice of ya."

"It's alright," Kloppman said, casually. "We got an open bed anyway, might as well fill it tonight."

"Who's not stayin the night?" Dollface asked, as she picked up a piece of bread.

"He can stay in Crutchie's bed," Kloppman said awkwardly. Dollface went to take a bite of the bread but stopped midway and set it back down.

"Oh, right," she said quietly.

"Hey, I don't gotta sleep there," Spot said quickly. "I can sleep on the floor, still more comfortable than my alley."

"No, it's ok," Dollface said, looking at him. "You might as well get a good night's sleep, right?" They said nothing more on the topic as they ate dinner in silence. The rest of the room was filled with conversation, mostly about the strike of course. But Dollface wasn't paying attention to anything. She suddenly became overwhelmed by grief for her brother. But he hadn't died, so why did she feel like she was in mourning?

"Hey, you ok?" Spot asked her, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"You haven't touched your food," he said, gesturing to her still full plate. "You's just been starin at your water for five minutes."

"It's been a long day," she said, pushing back from the table. "I'm gonna step outside for minute. Get some fresh air. Be right back."

She walked out of the room, hoping not to draw attention to herself, and stepped outside. The storm had briefly stopped and left a cool, moist air behind. She took in a deep breath of the clean air. Dollface leaned up against the cool brick of the building and closed her eyes, trying to compose herself, but still a few tears fell from her eyes.

"You alright?" She opened her eyes to see Spot, standing next to her. She quickly wiped her eyes and looked away from him.

"Yeah, just tired," she said.

"Come on, I know that ain't it," Spot said. "What's wrong? You can tell me." She stopped herself from saying what was on her mind. Was she really just going to explain her problem to a boy she had only been with for two days? It took her years to tell Jack about how she came to be in the boarding house and that they were running from their drunken father. She still felt deep embarrassment at crying in front of Racetrack and the other boys the night Crutchie got caught. She couldn't bring herself to tell him anything.

"Hey, it's alright," Spot said, comfortingly. He stood in front of her and took her hands in his. "It's just me, no body else." She smiled slightly, remembering that she had said that to him earlier that day. If he had told her all those things about being angry and not being able to control it, then she could tell him something.

"I just miss him," she said as another tear rolled down her cheek. "I miss him so much it hurts. I feel like a part of me is missin and I can't figure it out. It's like there's a hole inside of me and I could try to fill it with food or sleep or the strike or you and it wouldn't be enough."

"When Kloppman said that you could sleep in his bed, it just made me realize that he's gone," she said. She could feel Spot looking at her, listening intently, but kept looking away from him. "I've known it the past few days, of course I have. I know he's in the refuge. I know they beat him up good. I know he hasn't been here for four days. I know that he hasn't slept in his bed for four days but… just hearing Kloppman say that. Knowing that someone else is gonna be sleepin in the bed below me that's not him just makes me realize that he really ain't here."

"And I feel like he's died and everyone knows that but me and now I'm just finding out," she continued, speaking faster as if her words came to her all at once and she couldn't get them out in time. "And I don't know how to face that alone. We ain't neva been apart more than a day and now all of a sudden he's not here. He ain't there in the mornin to kick me outta bed or talk to when we's goin to the circulation center or make sure I get my coffee. And it's like they's tellin me all of a sudden that he's gone and ain't neva comin back and just expect me to accept it and move on."

"Hey, hey, hey," Spot said gently. He grabbed her and pulled her into his chest. She didn't realize it until then but she had been steadily crying harder and harder until she broke down sobbing. "It's ok. You's been holdin this in for so long and it's all just crashin down now. You's gonna be alright."

He stroked her hair slowly, trying to calm her down. If Spot had been speaking truthfully, he would have admitted that Dollface was scaring him right now. He had never seen someone so strong and independent break down like she had.

"I don't care about me bein alright," Dollface said, her voice muffled in his chest. "All I want is for Crutchie to come back home and be with me and his friends and walk a free man. But what if he don't come back? I seen what that place looks like. I seen what they did to him. What if he don't make it? I can't live without him. It's killin me as much as that refuge is killin him."

"Doll, we's gonna get him," Spot said, firmly and confidently. "He's gonna come runnin back and the first thing he's gonna do is hug you. And then all he's gonna care about is you. Is you ok? What's been goin on? Are you hurt? That's all he's gonna ask cuz he loves you so much, he don't care about him. He's a strong kid. I know it. You gotta be a strong kid to be on your own in New York City with a gimp leg. He's gonna come back. He's gonna be alright. You's gonna be alright."

They stood outside like that for a long time. They could have stayed like that for years if they wanted. Just Dollface pressed up against Spot, his strong arms around her, his gentle hand stroking her hair softly, as she calmed down and focused on the beating of his heart.

* * *

They ended up sleeping in Dollface's bed together. It was slightly crammed, true, but they didn't mind being so close together. The other boys mocked them for a minute or so but Spot shut them up with a couple of glares. Everyone went to bed early that night, under Kloppman's orders. And it seemed Kloppman was right to order an early bed time; nearly a minute after the light went out, the room was filled with the snores and quiet breathing of the boys. Dollface felt drained, as did Spot, and they both fell asleep instantly. A good night's sleep would do them good.

It was a shame they didn't get it.

Around eleven, there was a _tink_ sound at the window that woke Dollface up. She looked around confused and then laid back down, thinking she had imagined it. _Tink_! She sat up straight, waking up Spot.

"What's a matta?" he mumbled sleepily, putting a hand on the small of her back.

"I heard somethin," she whispered, looking around for the source of the noise. _Tink!_ It had come from the window. She pushed off the blanket and hopped down from the bed, not even using the ladder. She stumbled tiredly to the window and peered outside. Jack was standing in the street, his right hand raised and ready to throw another pebble. He smiled when he saw Dollface appear in the window and dropped the pebble to the ground. Dollface pushed open the window and leaned out.

"What the hell, Jack?" Dollface said in confusion.

"Shhh! Don't wake everyone up," Jack said, putting a finger to his mouth. Spot walked over to join Dollface at the window.

"What's goin on?" he asked her. She pointed to Jack standing outside.

"Get dressed and meet me down here," Jack said. Dollface nodded and shut the window. She walked over to her bed and began pulling on her pants.

"What are ya doin?" Spot asked.

"Goin outside to see Jack," she whispered. "Get dressed. Let's go."

"We ain't really goin to help him, is we?" Spot said incredulously. "Afta what he did to us?"

"He didn't really have no choice," Dollface said, tossing his shirt at him. "Now just come on."

"Why should I?" Spot said, his voice rising slightly. Dollface covered his mouth with her hand. Racetrack stirred in his bed nearby but became still again and Dollface took her hand away from his mouth.

"Because he's tryin to fix this mess," she said. "He's tryin. That's all he's doin. Just give him a chance, alright?" Spot stood there for a moment, staring defiantly at Dollface, and then sighed. He began pulling his shirt over his head.

"Fine," he grumbled. Five minutes later, they had snuck outside and came across Jack reading a paper.

"Hey, so what's the plan?" Dollface asked him. He smiled and handed her the paper he was reading. It was an article typed up on a typewriter. It had big letters at the top: THE SILENT ARMY.

"What's this?" Spot said, reading over her shoulder. "How's anotha pape gonna help us? If ya don't remember correctly, papes is what got us into this mess."

"Well my memory's a little foggy afta the numba you did on me this morning," Jack said crossly.

"I'd be glad to refresh your memory if you'd like," Spot said, cracking his knuckles. Dollface elbowed him in the stomach and he let out a grunt.

"Would you two just play nice?" she asked in exasperation. "We's on the same team, rememba? So just kiss and make up."

"Heard you two's been doin a lot of that lately, huh?" Jack said condescendingly. Dollface glared at him and turned her attention to the paper in her hands.

"You can punch him now, Spot," she said, as she began scanning the article. She heard Spot's fist collide with Jack's shoulder.

"Ok, fair enough," Jack wheezed out, rubbing his left shoulder with his hand. "I deserved that."

"Jack, this is great," Dollface said, coming to the end of the article. "Who wrote it?"

"Katherine," Jack said. "She's a damn good writer. Shame they won't let her write more stuff like this."

"So is this goin in her pape tomorrow?" Spot asked, taking the paper from Dollface.

"Well that's where we need your help," Jack said. "None of the papes in New York is allowed to print news about the strike thanks to good old Pulitzer."

"So tell me how one article is gonna end the strike?" Spot asked skeptically. "Especially if it ain't gonna go in any papes."

"I think it'd be easier to explain this later. Follow me," Jack said. He walked past Dollface and Spot and down the street. Dollface started following Jack but saw Spot hesitate.

"Just come on," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. Jack lead them to the basement Dollface had seen the Delanceys throw him in a few days ago. When they walked inside, she saw they were not alone. Katherine was waiting there, along with two other men. They were both dressed very neatly; Dollface assumed they were wealthy.

"Alright, this is Michael and James, right?" Jack said, introducing them to Spot and Dollface. "They's gonna help us out."

"Why is rich, hoity-toity people like you gonna help kids like us?" Spot asked.

"This strike is the most exciting thing to happen to this city in months," James explained. "And ever since Pulitzer banned strike content in all papers, nothing has been selling."

"We'll do anything to help beat his ass," Michael said. Spot shrugged, apparently approving of their help.

"So what are we doin here?" Dollface asked. "Why couldn't ya just explain it to us back at the boardin house?"

"We's gonna print Katherine's article," Jack said, smiling proudly at the plan. "And we's gonna distribute it tomorrow morning. Raise awareness of what really goes on with child labor. It ain't about us no more. It's about all us kids."

"Jack, that's great and all," Dollface said, seeing a hole in the plan, "but if Pulitzer's controllin what all the papes is printin, then how the hell is we gonna get the word out?"

"We got this," Jack said, smacking his hand on the large metal contraption in the center of the room.

"What the hell is that?" Spot asked.

"It's a printing press," Katherine said, handing aprons to Michael and James. "It's old and hasn't been used in years but it'll do the trick. Michael and James know how to work it, so they're going to use my article and print it."

"And the best part is it's happening right under Pulitzer's nose." Davey had just walked in the room and cheerfully came down the stairs.

"Sorry, I had to wait until Les fell asleep before I could leave," Davey said, rolling up his sleeves. "He wanted to come with me but I told him no. So, put me to work boss!"

Michael began working with the contraption that was apparently the printing press. Dollface watched in fascination as worked with the complicated mechanism, pressing the original article in between two flat pieces of metal. She had no idea how it worked but was amazed when a few minutes later he had produced another article, just like the original.

"Hey Kelly, I still don't see what this is gonna do for the strike," Spot said, also watching the men produce papers. "It's just a buncha words on paper. What the hell is that gonna do?"

"Just words?" Katherine said, overhearing what he said. "Newspapers aren't just words. They're stories and miracles and disasters. They speak for those who can't. And come tomorrow, the world will know your story and the story of kids in sweatshops and factories and slaughterhouses. And once they all know, not even Pulitzer can ignore an entire city of angry people."

"No one cared about us before," Spot said. "Why would they care about us now?"

"Because they didn't know before," Katherine said. "All they knew was that they buy papers from you for a penny and then continue on with their lives. But now they _will_ know. And they will be shocked by the horrors you kids experience everyday." Spot remained quiet, having been defeated.

After thirty minutes, they had enough papers to start tying them into bundles. As they were tying them together with pieces of twine, Dollface noticed how Jack and Katherine were now interacting. It was only a few little things, things that went unnoticed by everyone else, but enough to make her suspicious. She saw as Katherine's hand lingered around the finger that Jack had offered to tie a knot of the twine. She noticed them constantly glancing at each other and smiling when they made eye contact. She watched as Jack stared tenderly at her as she became preoccupied with helping Michael and James with the press.

Then Jack looked up and saw Dollface looking at him looking at her. He quickly diverted his gaze back to organizing the papers and looked back up when he felt that Dollface was still looking at him. She raised an eyebrow at him in question. Jack gave her a confused look. She then pointed to him and then to Katherine and gave him a smirk.

"Shut up," he mumbled, as blush rising on his cheeks. He turned back to his job as Dollface elbowed him jokingly in the ribs.

"I knew it," she muttered under her breath, standing up with a newly tied stack of papers and placing her stack with the rest of the completed stacks.

"Dollface, can you run back to the boarding house and wake the other boys up?" Katherine asked her. "We're getting a bit behind and need the full assembly line here to help."

"I don't wanna wake 'em up in the middle of the night," Dollface said. "They's all so tired, it don't seem right."

"It's nearly five in the morning," Katherine said, pointing to Michael's pocket watch that had been set aside.

"We've been here that long?" she asked in amazement. "Well damn. Alright, I'll get going."

"And can you stop by my house and get Les too?" Davey asked. "He'd kill me if I let him sleep through all of this."

"And maybe see if the convent has some food we could eat?" Jack suggested. "I'm starvin."

"Some coffee wouldn't hurt neitha," Spot said.

"I'm sorry your highnesses, is there anything else I can get you?" Dollface asked sarcastically.

"A new cap wouldn't hurt," Spot said, gesturing to the one on his head that was faded and threadbare.

"Goodbye," she said, ignoring Spot and walking up the steps.

"I'll come wit ya," Spot said, jumping up. "We'll work fasta if we split up." He followed her up the stairs and out the door. The moment the door closed, however, he grabbed her, pinned her against the wall, and kissed her passionately. After a few moments, he pulled away.

"This is it," he said excitedly. "We's gonna win, I can feel it." Dollface pulled him back in, kissing more fervently but Spot kept trying to pull away.

"Dollface… we gotta… the boys… and Les… I ain't jokin…" he said, trying to walk away from her but she kept pulling him back in for kisses.

"I spose they could wait a few more minutes," Spot finally said, giving in as she began biting his lower lip and driving him crazy.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the newsies were assembled, tying together papers, tossing stacks around the room, and rotating on the printing press. Eventually, James and Michael stopped printing the papers and soon enough, all the papers had been bundled together and were ready to be distributed.

"Alright so here's the plan," Jack said, stepping onto the top of the stairs. "Get these papes out all ova the place. Not just our area, I mean all ova the place. And they's free. Give 'em to people who can read. Give 'em to shop owners and businessmen. And give 'em to ladies too, they's bound to feel real bad for us. Just get these papes out. I don't wanna see one left ova pape, ya got that? Then once you're done with all your papes, go and tell all the otha newsies to meet outside Pulitzer's office as soon as possible. Hell, give _them_ the pape too." He surveyed the crowd of newsies and smiled proudly.

"Ok everybody," he said. "I know I ain't been sucha good leader lately. Hell, I ain't been sucha good pal neitha. But I'm here to stay this time. This is it. This is the moment we's been waitin for. The world is finally gonna know what's goin on. They's gonna learn the truth and things is gonna change. We just gotta push through this last battle and then we's got 'em. We can do it. We are newsies, we's finally speakin up, and we's gonna fix things once and for all!" He thrusted his fist in the air as the room erupted into cheers.

It took a few minutes but eventually the room had cleared and the newsies were running excitedly through the streets in different directions. It was still a little early but there were a few people walking through the streets. These people looked utterly confused when they saw the swarm of newsies appear out of no where, running in all directions. They gladly accepted the papers the boys handed to them, and Dollface felt relieved when she saw them actually reading it.

Her morning was spent running all over the city, giving papers to shop keepers and important looking men on the street. She decided to go to Brooklyn and spread the word there. After all, Spot was currently the only Brooklyn newsie who knew what was happening. It took a while but when she finally got there, she saw that there were people already reading the paper. She wandered into the busiest streets and passed out more papers.

"Looks like I beat ya to the punch, huh?" Dollface turned around and saw Spot smirking at her. "Came here first thing afta we left that cellar this mornin. Wanted to tell my boys. Surely you would have figured that out."

"Oh shut up," she said, still passing out papers to people walking by. Spot approached her from behind and looked over her shoulder.

"Tough luck," he said. "Looks like you still got a ton of papes left. How's you gonna get rid of 'em?"

"I have my ways," Dollface said, coming up with a clever plan. It took some convincing but ten minutes later, she was up on a rooftop with half of her papers in her hand. On the roof across the street from her was Spot, holding the other half. She held up her fingers, counting to three, and they both tossed the papers off the building into the busy streets below. Dollface leaned over the building to watch the papers float down to the ground. The people below looked up in confusion at the flying papers and grabbed at them, eager to see what all the fuss was about.

"If that don't do it," Dollface said to herself. "I don't know what will."

* * *

**oh my gosh, I didn't realize it until now but this is the second to last chapter. one more and then it's done! that just blows my mind, you know? the fact that I'm almost done with a (kinda sorta not really) original story. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I put that breakdown in for Dollface basically for two reasons: 1) it shows that she and Spot are in a more caring relationship than you'd think, that they support each other and stuff and 2) it seemed to me that ever since the plot with Spot picked up (hehe that rhymed), she had kinda forgotten about Crutchie so that kinda justified it some.**

**So yeah! I got a lot more reviews for the previous chapter (woot woot!) and I'm thinking it's cuz you guys are liking this Spot/Dollface ship I've got going on, which I really appreciate. So continue leaving reviews and enjoy what's left of this story!**


	18. Chapter 18

The newsies of New York were storming the gates of Pulitzer's office. They had even been joined by the people who read the article. It was a crowd of outraged people, chanting loudly and thrusting their fists in the air. The numbers had been growing all morning and it was nearly impossible to even guess how many were there. It was more than what they asked for.

"There ain't no way they can ignore us now!" Spot said to Dollface, having to practically shout so she could hear him. He pulled her behind him as they made their way to the front of the mob. When they finally pushed their way to the front, they met up with Jack, Davey, and some of the other newsies from the boarding house. They were all chanting along excitedly with the crowd, thrusting their signs into the air.

"We are newsies! We are newsies! We are newsies!" they all chanted in unison. Dollface felt invigorated as the adrenaline pumped through her body. Finally, they were doing something that felt like it might work. They might win. They might get Crutchie back. No, they _would_ get Crutchie back. She felt it in her bones. They were going to win.

Up above them, the figure of the one and only, Joseph Pulitzer, appeared in the window. The crowd immediately booed at him, becoming more angered by the mere sight of him. He quickly backed away from the window when he saw the crowd's reaction and closed the curtains.

"We gots his attention now," Jack shouted happily. A few minutes later, the door to the building opened at two policemen stepped out. They held their hands in the air, trying to get the crowd's attention and calm them down, but to no avail. They might as well have been invisible. Then one of them blew a whistle and more policemen appeared. They formed a line and began pressing into the crowd, pushing them back and away from Pulitzer's office.

"You can't do this! We gots a right to be here!" Jack screamed in one of their faces.

"You are breaking the law by loitering and disturbing the public," he shouted back at him.

"The public? We _is_ the public you moron!" Jack shouted. He shoved him out of the way and broke away from the crowd.

"Davey, Spot! Let's go have a quick word with Pulitzer," Jack shouted behind him before running towards the door. Davey and Spot slipped out of the grips of the police and ran after Jack. They were cut off by two policemen stepping in front of the door, blocking their way in.

"Hey, let us through," Spot said, trying to push one of them out of the way. He responded by shoving him to the ground. Dollface felt her anger rising as she watched.

"You can't hurt a kid!" Davey shouted at them in shock.

"Oh yeah, watch me," the other man said, hitting Davey in the stomach with his police baton. Jack threw a punch at him as the first policeman kicked Spot back to the ground. Dollface's anger exploded and she shoved her way through the line of policemen and running angrily towards the brawl that had just begun. The policeman kicked Spot in the stomach as Dollface reached them.

"That's my boyfriend ya jerk!" she yelled, jumping on the policeman's back and pulling him off of Spot. He began jerking his body around, trying to swing her off him, but she clung on. The other police officer abandoned his fight with Davey and Jack and turned his attention to his partner.

"Guys go!" Dollface shouted at Davey, Jack, and Spot. "Go now!" They ran through the doors of the building as the other police officer reached Dollface. He grabbed her and ripped her off the back of the man and threw her to the ground.

"Get outta here!" he spat with disgust, kicking her in the stomach. Dollface crawled out of the way of another kick and scrambled to get up. She retreated back to the mob to avoid another fight. She could already feel the bruise forming on her abdomen but it was worth it to get them inside. Now all they had to do was wait. One way or another, the strike would end that day.

After about thirty minutes, the crowd had calmed down considerably, having been forced back away from the building. The cheering and chanting stopped but the same energy was still there. Once word had spread that Jack was currently in the building, most likely talking to Pulitzer himself, the excitement began growing again. No one left as they all anxiously awaited the outcome of the strike.

Suddenly everyone turned their attention to the doors as they opened. Spot and Davey walked out, looking unsure of themselves. They rejoined their friends in the crowd as they were overwhelmed by questions. Davey tried to answer some of them but couldn't be heard over everyone else. Finally, Spot stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. They all stopped talking at once and turned their attention to him.

"Jack's in there now with Pulitzer," he explained. "We started talking to him and showed him the article and everthin. Boy, you shoulda seen the look on his face when he found out we printed it on his press!" Spot laughed gleefully.

"Then Katherine showed up and then so did Medda," Davey continued. "You'll never guess who was with them."

"Govna Theodore Roosevelt!" Spot shouted excitedly.

"Tell me he is on our side," Boots said. Spot nodded.

"He seemed real pissed 'bout everythin," he said. "Was mad at Pulitzer for disruptin his city and not takin more care of us."

"Then Katherine pulled out some of Jack's drawings and showed them to Governor Roosevelt," Davey said. "They were from the refuge. He looked absolutely disgusted and demanded to speak to the head of the refuge immediately. Then Pulitzer asked to speak with Jack alone. I handed him the list of our demands and then we all left."

"So it's all up to Jack now?" Racetrack asked. Davey nodded. "Don't know bout you folks but I'm getting a little nervous." He took off his cap and fanned himself with it. They all watched the window of Pulitzer's office, looking for any sign of movement, but the curtain was still closed. Suddenly, the curtain was pulled aside. Jack was standing next to Pulitzer, gesturing to the crowd. Everyone saw this and started cheering again, thrusting their signs and fists into the air. Pulitzer tried to turn away from the window but Jack leaned forward an opened it so he could hear their chanting.

"We won't obey! We won't obey!" they shouted, all staring into the face of Pulitzer. He looked troubled and distressed and tried to swat away at the crowd. He opened his mouth and shouted something but it couldn't be heard over the chanting. Jack looked triumphant and gave a wink at the crowd as Pulitzer slammed the windows shut and closed the curtain again. They knew something was going to happen and soon. This was it.

They then turned their attention to the small balcony that was fixed just above the front doors to the building. Pulitzer, Roosevelt, and Jack stepped out onto it and looked at the crowd as they cheered louder. Jack whistled loudly several times before the crowd finally died down and he could be heard. He took a long look at them, his expression unreadable. Dollface felt Spot grab at her hand and she gave it a nervous squeeze.

"WE WON!" Jack finally shouted triumphantly. The crowd erupted into cheers, louder than ever. Caps were thrown in the air, signs were thrown to the ground. Spot grabbed Dollface and spun her around, kissing her through their broad smiles. Spot pulled away and looked at Dollface. There was a bright light in his eyes that made Dollface feel happier than she had in days.

"We did it," he said through his laughter. Jack whistled again to gain everyone's attention, and they quieted down after a minute. Dollface felt immense pleasure when she saw the deep scowl on Pulitzer's face.

"Yes, yes, congratulations!" Roosevelt said, a broad smile on his face. "Mr. Pulitzer and Mr. Kelly here have come to an agreement. Not only will the prices of papers be reduced to the original price of fifty cents per hundred, but you will be able to sell back the papers you do not sell. In addition, we will look into funding the newsboy boarding houses across the city for better beds, facilities, and food."

"I have also had a long conversation with Mr. Synder, the head of the children's juvenile center," he continued. "I have a small piece of good news for a few of you."

"Whatchu mean?" Jack asked confused. Roosevelt said nothing but pointed down the street. A carriage had arrived in the square and stopped to open the doors.

"Hiya fellas," Crutchie said cheerfully, climbing out of the carriage. Dollface took off sprinting towards her brother and slammed into him, knocking the crutch out of his hand. It landed with a clatter on the ground as she hugged him tightly. Her heart began to swell when she heard Crutchie chuckle as he returned the hug.

"I thought I'd neva see you again," she said in his ear, holding back tears.

"Me too, little sista," he said, squeezing her tightly. "I'm fine though, just a little banged up." She pulled away to look at him. Bruises covered his face and she could still see the cut on his forehead that had been there when she snuck in his first night there.

"Kloppman'll fix you up in no time," she said, smiling brightly at him. Suddenly they were slammed with another body. Jack had run down from the balcony and threw his arms around the pair of them.

"Good to see ya buddy," he said to Crutchie. "Hope they didn't rough ya up too bad."

"Naw, I'm fine," he shrugged. More of their friends began gathering around Crutchie, all glad to see him back where he belonged.

"Another piece of good news," Roosevelt said, regaining the crowd's attention. "Thanks to the very descriptive drawings of Mr. Kelly, the refuge will be shut down. All the children within its confines will be pardoned and released. No one will have to run from Mr. Synder ever again. Which reminds me, bring him out boys!" The front doors of the building were opened as Synder walked out in the clutches of the police. Everyone cheered at the sight of Snyder struggling break free of their grip. They walked him over to the same carriage that had brought Crutchie to them.

"You are under arrest for the brutal mistreatment of minors and illegal withholding of state money," the policeman said, taking out a pair of handcuffs. Crutchie hobbled over to them, limping slightly more than he had been a few days ago, and tapped the man on the shoulders.

"May I?" he asked humbly. The police officer looked uncertainly up at Roosevelt, who shrugged happily, and then handed the cuffs to Crutchie, who let out a chuckle.

"Looks like it's off to the refuge for you little man!" he said happily, slapping the handcuffs on Snyder. The police dragged him away as he aimed a kick at Crutchie. The crowd of newsies behind them cheered loudly as they watched Snyder be driven off in the police carriage.

"Congratulations, boys!" They turned around and saw Katherine running over to them, a large smile on her face. "I've never seen my father so upset before."

"Ya fatha!" the boys shouted out in surprise before going off into mindless chatter.

"It's a long story," she said simply to quiet them. She then turned to Jack. "Congratulations, cowboy. You did it."

"We couldn't a done it without ya article," he said modestly. "This victory is just as much thanks to you as it is to me."

"So with the strike settled, I guess you'll be leaving for Santa Fe," she said, her smile fading. "Like you told me yesterday."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jack said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What?!" the boys cried out indignantly.

"You can't go!"

"We needs ya here!"

"Santa Fe's stupid, Jack."

"We's ya best friends!" Jack held up his hand to signal for them to stop talking.

"Come on fellas," Racetrack said grouchily. "We don't wanna make Jack late for his train." Everyone but Katherine, Davey, Crutchie, and Dollface walked away from Jack.

"How can they be mad at me?" Jack asked frustrated, watching them join back in the celebrations with the rest of the crowd. "They all knows I'm gonna go there soona or later."

"Jack, what exactly does Santa Fe have that New York doesn't?" Davey asked. "Because to me, it seems like Santa Fe is just a dry, old desert with nothing there for you."

"New York's got us," Crutchie said, with a crooked smile.

"And we's family," Dollface said as Crutchie put his arm around her.

"You'd really leave ya best friends, Jack?" Crutchie asked.

"And what about the strike?" Dave asked. "You worked so hard and now that we've won, you're just going to leave? You're not even going to see all of our hard work pay off?" Jack ignored them and shoved his hands awkwardly in his pockets, looking down at his shoes.

"Come on, guys," Dollface said, seeing that they weren't going to change his mind. "Let's go celebrate more. We'll see ya later Jack. Or maybe we won't." They sadly walked away from Jack but couldn't help but smile as they were greeted by the cheering crowd.

"Hey, what's that about?" Spot asked Dollface, pointing to Jack and Katherine, who seemed to be having an intimate conversation.

"Don't know," Dollface said with a dejected shrug.

"Hey, why the long face? We won!" Spot said, grabbing her face and pulling her into a kiss. A second later, Dollface remembered who was standing next to her and pulled away. She looked sheepishly at Crutchie, who looked like he wanted to punch Spot.

"You remember Spot Conlon, right?" she said awkwardly. Spot was a tough guy. He had never shown any weakness or fear before. He had gotten in street fights and walked away with nothing more than a bruise on his arm. He had accidentally gotten a fish hook stuck in his thumb and merely ripped it out without so much as a shout. But now, he was truly afraid as he stood in front of the very angry and protective brother of Dollface. Dollface stepped in front of Spot as Crutchie raised his fist.

"Crutchie, would ya calm down?" she asked him. "It ain't that big a deal."

"Hell it is," Racetrack said, observing what was going on. "Dollface put out so Brooklyn joined the strike." Dollface punched Racetrack in the face as everyone laughed at what he said.

"Ok, I might a deserved that," Racetrack said, as he rubbed his jaw. "But he was gonna find out soona or later."

"Crutchie, you gots a great sista," Spot said politely and kindly. "She's strong and fierce and determined and stubborn as hell and that's what I love about her."

"Yeah, me too," Crutchie mumbled, his anger fading.

"I respect her," Spot said, feeling slightly relieved that Crutchie didn't seem so angry anymore. "I respect her cuz I know if I didn't, I'd get get a punch in the groin."

"You bet you would," Dollface said with a smirk on her face.

"I respect her, and whateva she stands up for, so do I," he said. "And we ain't done nothin."

"Nothin my ass!" Mush shouted out. "You call nothing gropin each otha on the floor and makin out? Geez if that's nothing, I wanna see what you call something." Dollface elbowed him hard in the gut as Crutchie took a step towards Spot.

"What did you do?" Crutchie asked, both angry and disgusted at the same time.

"We didn't do nothin," Dollface said, stepping in between him and Spot again. Crutchie opened his mouth to respond but saw the bite mark from a few days ago, though faded and not as noticable as before, but still very clear.

"What the hell is that?" Crutchie asked sternly. "Is that… that ain't... He gave you a hickey, didn't he?!"

"Hey look, Jack and Katherine is kissin!" Dollface blurted out, desperate to get the attention off of her and Spot. She pointed to Jack and Katherine, who were indeed kissing passionately, and that did the trick. The boys laughed and whistled at them as Katherine pulled away, laughing.

"Guess that means he's stayin," Dollface said. "Ain't that great Crutchie?"

"Yeah, don't think this is ova," he said, giving Spot the stink eye.

"What is we waitin for?" Jack said to the crowd. "Papes don't sell themselves!" Jack lead the revitalized newsies to the circulation center, with Katherine at his side. They walked gleefully past the Delanceys, who seemed bitter about their victory in the strike, and confidently formed a line to buy papers. Jack took his place at the front of the line and slammed down a quarter.

"Fifty papes, please," he said proudly to the disgruntled Wiesel. Wiesel slammed his stack of papers down and called out for the next person.

Once they had all bought their papers, they stood around, stuffing them in their bags and reading the headlines of the day. It was too soon for the papers to print their success in the strike but they knew it was coming soon. In fact, they wouldn't be surprised if the front page news was written by Katherine Plumber. Dollface rolled her eyes at the boring headlines of the day and put her last paper in her bag. She took her cap off her head and looked up at the sky. The sun was beating down on her already at eleven in the morning. It was going to be a hot day for sure. Perhaps she would stop by Spot's docks and go for a swim. She put her cap back on as Crutchie stood at her side, putting his bag around his shoulders. She elbowed him playfully and walked off towards the gates. Full of energy, Crutchie hopped after her and jumped onto her back, making her laugh. They walked out of the gates with Jack, Davey, Les, Spot, and the rest of their friends, papers in hand, hats on their heads, yelling out headlines, and going their separate ways. But they would all be together again in a matter of hours and would share their stories of the day over a game of marbles that Dollface was bound to win.

* * *

**Fun fact: the line "New York's got us and we're family" is actually what started the character of Dollface. I knew I wanted to create a girl newsie and I originally was going to have her be a good friend of Crutchie and later evolve into a girlfriend for him but that line made me make them siblings and later twins. It was actually the very first thing I had planned on writing. Crutchie saying "New York's got us" and Dollface saying "And we's family" just after they had just been reunited. Ironic though that it was in the very last chapter.**

**So it's over! I really hope you enjoyed this alternate telling of the Newsies story! I know I enjoyed writing it and definitely enjoyed creating Dollface. Thank you for all the love this story got and I'm really glad so many people supported it. **

**Alright so make sure to tell your friends about this story so they can read it too! Leave a review and let me know what you thought of the story over all! Sidenote: all you guys keep saying you love my writing style and meanwhile I'm literally just sitting at my computer trying to form thoughts into coherent sentences, so I'm flattered you think I have a style. Thank you for all the support and I hope you liked the story! If you want to see more of Dollface and my telling of their story, PM me a few short story or one-shot ideas and maybe I'll turn that into something... You never know!**


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